The Tabby at the Train Station
by BlueSky509
Summary: To the young Jennyanydots,finding a tomfriend seemed like a huge waste of time.She was certainly not interested in the boring toms at the local train station...Until she meets one of them. Jenny/Skimble
1. Seemingly Abandoned Duties

**A/N: I'm taking a break from my story "Unlikely Love" because I got this marvellous new idea for one about Jenny and Skimble. I noticed there was a serious lack of stories for this pairing, so I wanted to pitch a new one. Just so no one has any previous judgements about certain characters, Macavity hasn't gone completely evil yet and he's preparing for the role of Jellicle Protector, and Grizabella hasn't been exiled yet. There are also quite a few OC's, as this story takes place in Jenny's younger years, before any of the kittens are born. Enjoy, and don't forget to review!**

Jennyanydots wiped her damp brow as she walked briskly out of her den and into the early autumn sunshine. She had just completed a particularly difficult evaluation of her nursing skills, which happened to be treating a nasty gash for her younger friend Munkustrap. Jenny was preparing herself to take over her mother's position as Gumbie Cat, as her mother was getting on in years and would be retiring soon. Jenny really wanted to be a Gumbie Cat because on top of helping others by nursing them back to health, she wouldn't have to do much else. That meant she could laze around all day, which sounded like the best job in the world.

The young queen had successfully treated a serious injury for the first time without her mother's help. Her mother actually refused to help her just so she could see how much her daughter's studying and expertise could help her when dealing with the real thing. Jenny glanced over her shoulder to see Munkustrap's silver tabby form trailing behind her. His left foreleg was bandaged perfectly from his elbow to his wrist. Needless to say, she had passed her mother's test with flying colours. The younger tabby darted off in the direction of his den without much more than a quick nod of thanks to Jenny. Jenny sighed slightly as she licked her yellow and orange tabby fur. Munk's constant flinching and swatting had ruffled it, but her rough tongue smoothed it down sufficiently. The young silver tabby had blatantly refused to tell anyone how he got the gash, and Jenny suspected he was too embarrassed to reveal the truth. She wouldn't pry; the reason wasn't that important.

Jennyanydots hopped up onto a giant tire on one side of the main clearing she had just entered. Her best friend Jellylorum, a brown and white tabby queen, was already there waiting for her. She smiled at her yellow and orange friend as she plopped herself down with an exaggerated huff.

"I assume Munk wasn't very cooperative? Was your mother impressed?" Jellylorum queried with a giggle.

Jenny gave her friend a tired smile. "Yeah, Munk was a pain…I think it was just because he wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. You should have seen his face when I was wrapping the gauze around his foreleg…He looked mortified! He didn't talk much, and he was silent when my mom asked what happened. But he's fine now and Mom said I did a good job." She explained her trial to her friend.

Jelly nodded and gave Jenny an encouraging nuzzle. "You're even better at nursing than I am! My mom still helps me with all the injuries, while you're able to treat them all by yourself!" She complimented sincerely.

"It's not like I have a choice…" The yellow and orange tabby queen frowned, "I am going to be the next Gumbie Cat. I have to be good at this stuff, or else I'll never be able to follow in Mother's footsteps. It's not that I don't like it, I do, but nursing is so demanding! It's all study, study, study, and then test, test, test. I hardly get a break from it all. You should consider yourself lucky, Jelly. You don't have to be the head nurse of the Jellicle Junkyard."

Jellylorum nudged her friend playfully, but this didn't cheer her up like it usually did. "Stop stressing over this so much! You don't have to be a Gumbie Cat for the next few years! If you're really worried about your skills, then talk to your mom. I'm sure she'll let up on the studying once she sees the toll it's taking on you." The teenaged queen advised.

Jenny nodded in agreement, but she didn't appear entirely convinced. Her best friend was wise beyond her years, and it would be foolish not to follow her expert advice. Jenny sighed once more, this time exasperatedly. She turned to face Jelly and complained, "Have you _met_ my mother? She's strict as an army general, and she won't let up until _she_ thinks I deserve a break, not me. It's not my choice as to whether or not I get a rest."

The brown and white tabby queen rolled her eyes, but in a good-natured manner. Her face suddenly lit up as she thought of a potential idea that would rid her friend of her current stresses. "I know the perfect thing that you need! A tomfriend!" She practically squealed with excitement.

Her friend stared at her like she had just sprouted another head. "A _what_? Jelly, I know your advice is usually reasonable, but this is just absurd. I don't have _time _for romance. Period." She remarked without a hint of enthusiasm.

Jelly's cheerful face fell, but she refused to give up. "C'mon, Jenny! Take me as an example: I'm in exactly the same boat as you, burdened with the weight of studying for nursing. The only difference between you and I is that I have Gus, my tomfriend. Look how happy and carefree I am! When I'm with him, I have nothing to worry about, and I can just let go and have fun! You, on the other paw, have no outlet. You're constantly stressed out, you've got huge shoes to fill, and I don't even remember the last time you left the junkyard to go out with me, Gus, Demeter, and Macavity. _That_ is why you need a tomfriend." She stated matter-of-factly, thinking she had finally gotten through to her friend.

The yellow and orange queen shook her head and brushed the notion off. Honestly, it wasn't appealing to her in the least. Not only did she not have time for a relationship, there weren't many toms in the junkyard to choose from. There were Old Deuteronomy's three sons, Macavity, Munkustrap, and Rum Tum Tugger. Both Mac and Munkustrap liked Demeter, though the former was actually her tomfriend. Munk merely had a huge crush on the gold and black queen and was extremely jealous of his older brother. This resulted in quite a few brawls between the two. Tugger had a scarlet queenfriend the same age as him named Bombalurina, and they almost never left each other's side. That left Asparagus, more informally known as just Gus, and he was Jelly's tomfriend. There were no other eligible toms in the junkyard, except for a tom named Coricopat who was a bit younger than Tugger, but he was just…creepy, to put it nicely. He was also too young for Jenny, as she was nineteen and he was sixteen-and-a-half.

Jelly still seemed a tad downcast at the rejection of her idea, so Jenny tried to get her to see how it sounded in her mind. She took the brown and white tabby's paw in hers and said gently, "I know you mean well, Jelly, but the other reason I can't have a tomfriend is because there's no one to choose from. All the toms here either have a crush or a queenfriend already. I'm the odd one out, and I really don't mind. I'll just keep on pushing through until my studying is finished, and then we'll see about love, alright?"

Jellylorum pouted, but she nodded in understanding. Her eyes suddenly brightened and Jenny knew another idea had popped into her head. "Maybe there isn't anyone here, but there might be somewhere nearby, don't you think? Why don't we go down to the train station and see if anyone catches your fancy there? That place is always crawling with toms our age and we both know they're honest and hard-working if they can hold down a job as demanding as that! C'mon, let's go!" She chirped happily as she stood up and tugged her friend along behind her.

Jenny groaned, but she didn't resist as she and Jelly jogged to Jenny's den. _"She just won't drop it until I've found someone, will she…?"_ The yellow and orange tabby thought hopelessly as she was towed into her own den. Her mother and father glanced up in surprise at the pair of fresh-faced queens.

"You look awfully excited about something, Jellylorum. May we ask what it is?" Jenny's father, an older calico tom, questioned.

"I'm going to find your daughter a tomfriend, Sir! We're going to the train station for the afternoon, is that okay?" Jelly replied politely, but with barely contained enthusiasm.

Jenny's father smiled at the young queen, and then chuckled bemusedly as he took in his daughter's tepid expression. "It's about time you got yourself a tomfriend, Jenny. You came of age last year, and we haven't heard a thing in terms of whether you found one or not. We can't take care of you forever. You've got to find a mate sooner or later and move into your own den." His voice became stern, and it was almost like he was chastising Jenny for not finding love.

"Your father has a point, dear. I think the train station is a wonderful place to find a tomfriend. I know some of the parents of those young toms and they say they're very dependable and diligent in their work. That's the kind of tom we would approve of; one who can provide for you as well as himself, and protect you. Go on; tell us how it went when you return. Be home before dark, okay?" Jenny's mother, a yellow tabby, agreed whole-heartedly.

Jenny couldn't say no to her parents, no matter how much she hated the prospect of checking out the local dating scene. It was all just a waste of her valuable time. Nevertheless, she turned to leave with Jelly.

Jenny's father called out, "Wait a minute, girls" before the queens could step out into the sunshine. He gathered up a few envelopes and handed them to Jenny. "Please, deliver these to the post office beside the train station. Take Macavity with you as well, if you don't mind. I don't know what kinds of vandals are lurking beyond our fence." He advised.

His daughter groaned impudently. "Seriously, Dad? I'm a grown queen! I don't need an escort!" She quipped as she took the letters from her father. The no-nonsense stare he gave her told her all she needed to know. He wouldn't let her go without the ginger tom.

Jenny hung her head in submission as she muttered, "Fine, we'll go with Macavity…See you later." With that she let Jelly practically drag her out of the den. They went to Jelly's den next to tell her parents, and they were all for the trip. The pair found Macavity and Tugger brawling in the center clearing, and it was obvious the former was winning. It didn't take long for the ginger tom to pin his youngest brother, even though said brother was almost as tall and strong as he was. Soon, he would be the tallest out of all three of them.

Once Tugger was subdued and the play-fight was over, both young toms shook paws and congratulated each other on fighting well. Jenny cleared her throat to get the toms' attention. "Mac, we need you to escort us to the train station. My dad won't let Jelly and I go alone." She stated in her most business-like voice.

The ginger tom tapped his chin for a moment, thinking. "Okay, I need to go into town anyway. Why, may I ask, are you going to the train station?" He queried with sincere interest.

Jenny pinched the bridge of her nose with one paw while clapping the other over Jelly's mouth before she could make her seem like a desperate queen again. "Jelly had the genius idea of going to the train station to find me a stick-in-the-mud, workaholic tomfriend. Damn it, why does it have to be the boring toms at the station? Why can't we do a bit of clubbing and find someone exciting for me?" She complained in her most sarcastic voice.

Jelly pried her friend's paw off her mouth and explained for her, "Because you're _not_ going to find toms at a bar when the sun is up, and we're looking for a serious relationship for you, not a casual fling! Stop being such a bummer and get going already!" Jelly began walking with her friend and said over her shoulder to the ginger tom following them, "Oh yes Macavity, we need to stop by the post office as well. Jenny's mom wants us to mail some letters."

Macavity nodded and the trio hopped over the junkyard fence. They headed east towards the Riverside London Station. This station was located right by the Thames River, as it was important to be able to ship cargo from the ports as efficiently as possible. While they were strolling along Jenny asked, "Say, why do you need to go into town, Mac? I never knew you did business in the city."

The ginger tom glanced over his shoulder, since he had taken the lead, and replied, "I have some friends I need to meet up with. The place isn't far from the train station, and it won't take long. Then I'll take you to the station and give you two some freedom so I won't interfere with your tom-scoping."

Jenny and Jelly exchanged shrugs. This sounded like a perfectly acceptable plan to them. When the Riverside London Station train yard was in sight, Macavity took a left down a dingy alley. The pair of queens following him glanced around at their surroundings with unease. It felt like they were being watched. Soon enough, that feeling was confirmed as Jenny saw shapes emerge from the shadows and heard raspy cackles that caused her fur to stand on end. These shapes turned out to be squalid, wretched-looking toms. The stench that wafted off of them suggested that hygiene wasn't a priority for them. Jenny and Jelly almost gagged at the revolting smell, and unanimously decided it was best to breathe through their mouths.

Macavity however, seemed right at home with these disgusting degenerates of feline society. He heartily shook paws with each one of the four shady toms that had materialized from the shadows. One or two eyed Jenny and Jelly with something akin to desire in their hollow, darting eyes. Even in the middle of the day, this alley was dark as night because the towering buildings on either side blocked out the sun sufficiently. Jenny could barely make out the coat patterns on the mangy toms even with her acute night vision. They were just too filthy to be anything more than forgotten, poverty-stricken cats.

"Where's the dough, Mac? We had a deal. No money, no merchandise." One of the sordid toms hissed impatiently. His crooked tail lashed from side to side, and the other toms frowned at their clean, ginger accomplice.

Macavity chuckled and snapped his fingers. A thick wad of bills appeared in his paw, and the dull eyes of the toms lit up with greed and excitement. This money appeared to be a ray of hope in an otherwise black abyss to them. "You didn't think I'd forgotten, did you? Now, hold up your end of the deal." He demanded as he held the cash just out of the toms' reach.

The dirty tom who had spoken craned his neck to glare at his comrades on his right. The two toms dashed off for a minute, and then came back with a small parcel wrapped in brown paper tied with twine. Macavity handed the tom with the parcel the money, and swiped the package before he could blink twice.

The ginger tom sniffed the parcel and grinned in approval. "Mmm…It's fresh. You four did a good job in acquiring this stuff. Thank you. Well, we'll be off now." He proceeded to back out of the alley and Jenny and Jelly followed his lead.

"Anything for our best customer." The first tom replied. He looked past Macavity and appeared to take notice of the two queens behind him for the first time. He extended a paw and requested, "Hold on there, Mac. I don't believe you've introduced me to your two fine ladies here."

Macavity set his jaw and growled, "They're not for sale, if that's what you're thinking. They're with me." He threw a steely glance over his shoulder at the pair of queens behind him and warned urgently in a low voice, "Be quiet and stay behind me. Whatever you do, don't turn your back or run until I say so."

Jenny furrowed her brow at the ginger tom's words, but kept her eyes on the sinister cats that were now approaching them. _"Not for sale? What does__ he mean by that?"_ She pondered as she kept backing up.

The filthy tom smirked and retorted with another bone-chilling cackle, "C'mon, you know the only action we get is with dumb whores. It's a miracle a couple of virgins come by, and you won't share! That's selfish, Mac. We'll just deflower the lil' bitches and be on our way! No harm, no foul!"

Jenny's eyes widened as a bolt of pure fear shot through her. She should have thought something like this would happen the moment she caught the lustful glint in the mangy toms' eyes. She hissed viciously and remarked much to the displeasure of Macavity, "You'd better be careful who you're talking to! Macavity's the Jellicle Protector and he won't let you lay a finger on us!"

The group of toms was now within arm's reach of Macavity. The one who had spoken halted, and so did the other three behind him. His face contorted into a sneer as he shot back, "Is that so? We'll just have to test that theory, then." He chuckled darkly and threw a lightning-fast sucker punch to Mac's face.

Macavity was quicker and ducked. The tom missed and stumbled forward. Macavity followed with an upper-cut that sent the filthy tom reeling backwards, but he was caught by his friends before he could hit the ground. The two continued to fight, but the remaining three toms didn't enter the fray. Instead they surrounded Jenny and Jelly and tried to pounce. One caught Jenny by holding her in a headlock. She managed to escape by elbowing her attacker in the face, but only momentarily. Soon the second tom captured her by taking hold of her arms and twisting them behind her back. She whimpered and stopped struggling for fear of experiencing more pain. Jelly had also suffered the same fate. Now they were both caught, and it looked like Macavity was defeated as well. Jenny thought the ginger tom was a better fighter than that. It wasn't like him to be beaten so easily…Macavity lay sprawled on the damp, dirty pavement of the alley, writhing in pain while the winner stood up and dusted himself off.

"Well, that was just too easy. To the victor go the spoils, eh boys? I'll take the yellow one, since I'm the boss of this group." The leading tom smirked triumphantly as he stood in front of Jenny and eyed her up and down.

The tom that held Jenny hissed and spat, "Like hell you do! I got her first, I should have dibs!"

"Do you _want_ your ass kicked for disobeying your leader?" The first tom snarled at his comrade.

The lower-ranking tom puffed his chest out and responded indignantly, "I captured her first, so it should be first come, first serve. Wait your turn!"

The leader bared his teeth and wrenched Jenny out of her attacker's hold. He gave her a rough shove and she was held captive once more by the only other remaining tom. The leader pounced on his comrade and proceeded to kick and claw him. Yowls and snarls resounded throughout the alley for a few minutes until the lower-ranking tom was beat into submission. When all was quiet again, the loser was covered in fresh bruises and gashes that oozed blood. He lay still as his superior rose up onto his feet and licked a scratch on his left foreleg.

Before he could get to Jenny again, something in the distance caught his eye. He pricked his ears in that direction and Jenny followed his eyes with hers. Two figures were running towards them. They were coming from the train station.

Jenny saw her opportunity and screamed at the top of her lungs, "Help! Over here!" The two figures, which were now close enough to be discerned as cats, clearly quickened their pace.

The leader struck Jenny hard across her face and the result was a high-pitched yelp. "Bitch! Look what you've done!" He snapped viciously as tears pricked Jenny's eyes. He turned to the other two toms and commanded, "Let's beat it; we don't want the station fuzz on our tails. Knock these two out and run for it." With that he dashed off into the darkness of the alley.

The remaining pair of toms shrugged and delivered forceful blows to the sides of the queens' heads and released them. They ran off in the direction their leader had gone without giving their motionless comrade as much as a glance. Jenny heard voices coming from the mouth of the alley, and tried to stay conscious as the throbbing in her head threatened to shut down her mind. She lolled her head to the left to see if Macavity was alright, but he had disappeared. Jenny turned her head to the right and let out a soft whimper as the area where the tom had hit her made contact with the pavement. Jelly was obviously unconscious, and she had a tom in a black waistcoat, the traditional uniform of the railway cats, kneeling beside her. Not a moment sooner another tom's concerned face appeared above hers. Jenny breathed her relief and closed her eyes to let the welcoming darkness completely envelope her mind.

* * *

><p>When Jenny slowly regained consciousness again, the memories of the fight were vague at best. She could only register through the dissipating haze in her mind that something warm and weighty was covering her, and that something cushy, but a bit bumpy, was underneath her head. Her makeshift pillow smelled like leather and held the unmistakable scent of a tom. Whatever she way lying on was hard and flat.<p>

Jenny blinked her eyes open to discover she wasn't in the alley anymore, but in a cramped, square room. Jelly was still out like a light on the wooden bench that extended from the wall behind her. Jenny attempted to lift her head to get a better view of her surroundings, but moaned in pain as a terrible pounding erupted in her head again. During her brief glance about her however, she noticed a door to her right and a window sill above her. The view outside the window was obscured by blinds, but the slanted blinds let rays of dull light stream through them. Jenny pricked her ears as she heard the doorknob turn. A middle-aged, grey and white-patched tom donning a waistcoat stepped inside with a relieved expression.

"Ah, it's good to see you're awake. We were beginning to worry." The patched tom greeted in a thick Irish accent.

Jenny cocked an eyebrow. "Who's 'we'? Where am I?" She queried as she massaged the side of her head. The throbbing decreased just a tiny bit.

The grey and white tom took on a sheepish expression for a moment, but it faded as he chuckled and extended a paw. "How silly of me to forget to introduce myself! I'm Coilin, Head Night Watchman here at the Riverside London Station. That's where you are, you and your friend here. Sorry we couldn't find anything more suitable than an empty ticket booth, but it's really the most private place we have right now. Once we brought the pair of you in last night, all the toms working here have been a tad worried. You've been unconscious for about twelve hours now. How are you feeling?" He smiled warmly as Jenny shook his paw.

A blue sleeve slipped off the edge of the bench she was lying on. It was then that Jenny discovered a blue overcoat typical of those worn by human railway employees was draped over her. "I'm Jennyanydots, but please call me Jenny. My friend is named Jellylorum. Were you one of the cats that rescued us last night?" She queried as Coilin helped her to sit up. Her headache receded as more time passed, and she was glad it was going away.

The Irish tom nodded. "Yes, Skimble and I noticed a skirmish going on where you were, so we went to check it out. That nasty gang that was attacking you fled before we could catch them and you two fainted before we could ask any questions. What did happen? Do you remember?" He explained in a gentle tone. If Jenny was still sensitive from the blow to her head, he didn't want to cause her any more discomfort by talking too loud.

Jenny's brow creased as she attempted to recall what had happened. "My friends Jelly and Macavity and I were making our way to the post office to deliver some letters and then hang out around here, but first Macavity said he needed to see some friends…I forget why, but his friends suddenly turned on us and a fight broke out. Then everything's blank after that." She didn't dare mention the real reason why she wanted to "hang out" around the train station. The yellow and orange tabby queen's face took on a worried expression as she asked urgently, "You didn't see a ginger tom anywhere nearby, did you? His name's Macavity and he got beat up pretty badly by those toms. Oh, whatever could have happened to the poor tom…? I hope he's alright…"

Coilin's lips formed a tight line as he responded, "We didn't pick up or see anyone else other than you girls. So sorry…I'm sure he's fine, though."

Jenny sighed, but accepted the answer. She glanced past Coilin to see an orange tabby tom her age step into the already crowded room. Unlike his friend, he didn't have a waistcoat on. He smiled and bowed his head politely to Jenny. "Hello there, lassie. My name is Skimbleshanks, but I go by Skimble around here. You gave Coilin and I quite a fright, you know. Are you feeling okay?" He introduced himself in a Scottish accent.

The yellow and orange queen smiled and nodded. She held out her paw and greeted, "I'm Jennyanydots. Call me Jenny, though. My friend is named Jellylorum, but she prefers Jelly."

Instead of shaking her paw as was customary, Skimble knelt down to Jenny's level, took her paw in his, and kissed the back of it. "It's an honour to meet you, Miss Jenny." He murmured humbly as he stood up again. Jenny couldn't help but let out a giggle at his old-fashioned greeting.

Coilin rolled his eyes in an exaggerated manner and warned Jenny sarcastically, "Please excuse him, he's a ladies' tom. Don't let his stupid charm fool you."

Skimble made a noise of disapproval, and Coilin smirked slightly.

Jenny waved the exchange off as she attempted to stand. She wobbled a little and had to use Coilin to steady herself, but her balance came back to her after a few seconds. "I'll keep that in mind. Where can I get a drink of water?" She asked as she took a couple steps forward. Her throat was parched and it was beginning to become difficult to talk.

Skimbleshanks held the door open for Jenny as she hesitantly walked out into the daylight. It was hard to tell what time it was because the sun was obscured by water-laden clouds. "There's a water fountain right over there, lassie." The orange tabby tom said as he pointed to a water fountain on the wall opposite them. After Jenny had gotten a drink his countenance inexplicably became concerned. He glanced about him as if he had forgotten something. "Where's my…?" He trailed off as he folded his forelegs over his chest and used one paw to tap his chin.

"Where's what, Skimble?" Jenny asked, wondering if she could be of help.

The orange tabby snapped his fingers as his face lit up with realization. "Ah! I'll be right back, Miss Jenny." He said hurriedly before he darted back into the ticket booth. A few seconds later he emerged once more, buttoning up his waistcoat. "It slipped my mind that you were using this as a pillow. It's gotten a tad frustrating when your fellow lads keep asking who you are because you're not wearing this thing. It's not a wrinkled mess, is it?" He flashed Jenny a smile as he straightened his sole article of clothing. It was slightly creased at the back where Jenny's head had rested, but was otherwise in immaculate condition.

Jenny returned the smile in full as she murmured shyly, "You look very handsome in it…" She bit her lip once the last word had escaped. Where did that come from? She mentally kicked herself for letting something so foolish come out of her mouth.

Fortunately, Skimble didn't appear to catch the full sentence. "Pardon? Could you repeat that?" He asked in earnest, eyebrows raised.

"N-Nothing. Your waistcoat looks fine." The yellow and orange queen replied in a rush of words. She wasn't surprised Skimble didn't hear her. All around them there were humans bustling about, getting to their designated train or off it. A hundred voices buzzed about her ears, but she didn't mind. Skimble shrugged and began to walk in the direction of the tracks.

"Where are you going?" Jenny queried as she tagged along.

Skimble smiled slightly as he responded, "Oh, I'm just patrolling, that's all. We don't have much to do around here during the day, we railway toms. Our real jobs start at midnight, on the Night Mail. So, when the sun is up, we should be sleeping, but not all of us work on just the Night Mail. I have day patrol as well. As soon as your friend wakes up, I'll be happy to escort you back home. Where do you live, lass?"

The yellow and orange tabby queen halted when Skimble stopped, claws gripping the edge of the concrete as he gazed out over the train yard. "Do you know where the Jellicle Junkyard is?" Jenny asked hesitantly.

Skimble shook his head. "No, I don't believe I do. Is it far from here?"

"It's a few blocks west…Oh, I hope my parents aren't too worried! I hope they'll understand what happened. I'm sure Macavity didn't mean to cause us any trouble…" Jenny fretted as she stared down at her hind paws. She tensed as she felt a finger under chin. She reluctantly let Skimble tip her chin up so he could look into her eyes. The orange tabby tom's eyes were an emerald green that looked so easy to get lost in…

"Don't you worry about a thing, Miss Jennyanydots. I'll explain my side of the story as best as I can, if the need arises." Skimble assured the yellow and orange tabby queen. He held her gaze for a moment longer before removing his finger from under her chin.

Jenny averted her gaze as a blush crept up her cheeks. Why was she reacting like a sixteen-year old? She scolded herself for acting like a kitten. Skimble made her smile and giggle like a schoolgirl. Jenny refused to believe she had a crush on the tom. She had barely known him for a day! It was impossible to have feelings for someone this fast! No, she would get over this silliness soon enough. Once Skimble escorted her and Jelly back home, she would never have to see his face again. Her heart sank at the thought, and she chastised herself once more.

The pair looked to their right to find Coilin rushing towards them, dodging the legs of the hurrying humans. He had a wide smile plastered on his face. "Jellylorum's awake! Come and see!" He announced joyfully. Jenny and Skimble followed suite and were inside the ticket booth again within minutes.

Jelly was already sitting up when the trio came in. She appeared to be a bit dazed, and was holding the side of her head. She immediately perked up when she saw her best friend. "Hey Jenny! Gosh, what a night, huh? I hope Macavity's alright. He went up and disappeared!" She exclaimed incredulously. Jelly's expression changed into a happier one as she added, "Don't worry about the letters, Jenny. Coilin told me he mailed them this morning."

Jenny nodded with a grim expression. She was worried about the Jellicle-Protector-in-training too, but there wasn't much she could do about it. Skimble went to go introduce himself to Jelly, though he didn't use the same old-fashioned greeting as he did for Jenny. The yellow and orange queen found that a bit odd, but she shrugged it off.

Once Jelly proved she could walk without assistance, she turned to Coilin with a smile. "Thanks for everything. We don't know what would have happened if you two hadn't come along. I hope we'll meet again someday." She bid farewell, and Jenny beamed her silent thanks to the grey and white-patched tom.

"You're very welcome, Jellylorum. Skimbleshanks will escort you and Jenny home. Be careful from now on, alright? Next time you might be so fortunate as to have someone around to rescue you." Coilin said sternly, but it almost had a fatherly feel to it.

The pair of queens nodded fervently and left the ticket booth with Skimble. Once they had gotten out of the vicinity of the train station, Jenny felt a drop of wetness on her forehead. A second later she felt one on her ear and then her shoulder. It had started to rain, and the clouds overhead transformed the environment into one that was gloomy instead of happy. They also brought a cold, sharp wind with them that whipped around the trio mercilessly.

"It looks like this isn't just going to be a simple shower. I know a storm when I see one. Let's get you lassies home quickly before the thunder starts." Skimble said urgently as he quickened his pace.

Jenny shivered and wrapped her arms around herself to keep warm. Jelly didn't seem to mind the rain and wind. She was the one cat Jenny had ever met who liked water and winter. It baffled her to no end, but she liked her best friend's seemingly unnatural quirks.

Skimble glanced to the plainly miserable and cold Jenny to her friend who skipped along and splashed through the ever-growing puddles in the street, laughing like a kitten. He felt bad for the shivering yellow and orange queen and removed his waistcoat to wrap it around her shoulders. Jenny glanced up at him questioningly, but didn't refuse his act of selflessness.

"Aren't you going to be cold without this, Skimble?" Jenny protested, but wrapped the waistcoat tighter around herself. It retained some of Skimble's body heat and scent. The thin, short waistcoat made her feel warmer than it should have been capable of. Jenny realized she was blushing again, and wished these tiny actions from Skimble didn't make such an impact on her.

The orange tabby shook his head at Jenny's modesty. "You need it more than I do." He answered. The rest of the journey back to the junkyard was relatively silent. When Skimble, Jenny, and Jelly arrived at their destination, the rain had gone from a drizzle to a steady downpour. The trio stopped at the fence and Jenny returned the waistcoat to its rightful owner.

"Thanks Skimble, for everything. I really enjoyed spending the afternoon with you." Jenny said timidly as she stood opposite him with Jelly at her side.

Skimbleshanks smiled humbly as he bowed his head. "It was no problem, really. I was glad to be of service…" He replied a bit sadly. He bit his lower lip and stammered timidly after a second of hesitation, "Uhh…I get off day patrol at four on weekdays and I have weekends off, i-if you want to…you know…come visit me at the station sometime. I live really close to the station, a-and I'd umm…appreciate the company, Miss Jenny." He hoped neither queen would notice his nervousness.

Jenny eyed the orange tabby tom as she began vapidly, "I'll think about it. I just have a lot on my plate right now and I don't know if-Oww!" Her excuse got cut short as Jelly elbowed her sharply in the ribs.

"She would love to visit you, _right _Jenny?" Jelly glared at her best friend. Jenny nodded to appease Jelly and prevent any more damage to her ribs.

"Splendid! Consider it a date, then! I-It was nice meeting you lassies." Skimble bid a hurried good-bye as he took Jenny's paw and softly pressed his lips to the back of it again. He spun on his heel and headed in the direction he had just come.

Once Skimble was out of earshot, Jelly batted her friend over the ears. "What's the matter with you? Skimble was gentletomly enough to lend you his coat, basically ask you out, and you wanted to _refuse_? How hard did that disgusting tom hit you over the head? Goodness Jenny, sometimes you can be so oblivious!"

Jenny sighed and shook her head slowly. "We've already been over this. I'm too busy to chase after some insipid railway tom. Skimble was just being nice to me, that's all. Any other tom would have done the same thing. I doubt this is going to go anywhere…" She seemed set on this notion, but her voice had a twinge in it that suggested otherwise.

Jelly grabbed her friend by the shoulders and forced her to look into her eyes. "I don't think a boring, stick-in-the-mud railway tom would rescue you from mangy crooks, keep you safe until you were back in good health, offer to escort you back home, _and_ lend you his coat to keep you warm. A tom who _likes_ you would do those things. We're going back there tomorrow at four and you're going to spend the evening with Skimble." She said in such a serious tone that Jenny had no choice but to agree.

The two queens hopped over the fence and darted into their dens to explain their adventure to their very worried parents.


	2. The Fiddler on the Pier

**Disclaimer: I don't own the song "Loch Lomond". I suggest listening to it when it comes up, it's a really pretty song! I don't have the whole thing, just the first two verses.**

**A/N: Yes, I know it's been a long wait, but I hope this chapter makes up for it. How will Jenny react to Skimble's offer? Does she feel the same way? Find out by reading on! Enjoy, and don't forget to leave a review!**

Jennyanydots awoke from her deep slumber to start another day. She leisurely stretched her limbs and looked beside her to see her parents curled around each other in their own nest, appearing completely tranquil in each other's hold. The yellow and orange tabby queen silently got up out of bed and tip-toed outside so as not to disturb them.

The refreshing morning breeze carried with it the scent of cleansed earth. Puddles formed from last night's downpour lay scattered about her, gradually evaporating in the presence of the warm sunshine overhead. The sky was once again cloudless, leaving no traces that it had ever rained. Jenny decided breakfast was in order and prowled around the giant tire in the center clearing for any rodents.

She spotted a rat emerging from its crevice in the trash and pounced. The rat had other plans, though. It darted back into its home with a sharp squeak of fear with milliseconds to spare. Jenny hissed in frustration, but whined inwardly as her stomach growled with hunger. She stood up and brushed the dirt off her fur, ears flattened against her head.

"_Those rats are smarter than we give them credit for…"_ The hungry queen glared menacingly at the nook her prey had escaped into. She sighed and scanned the clearing for another potential meal. A few pigeons were strutting about near the fence, pecking at the ground for their own food. Jenny crouched low and stalked the birds for a few minutes. When one had its back turned towards her, she lunged for the unsuspecting bird. She sunk her claws into its back and snapped its neck before it could flee like its partners. Jenny quickly ate the pigeon to satiate her hunger.

When she had wiped the blood and feathers from her mouth, the yellow and orange tabby heard more than one pair of footsteps coming up behind her. Not a second later she heard an all-too familiar voice. "Good morning Jenny! Eating breakfast, I see?" Jellylorum greeted cheerfully as her best friend spun around with a grin. Jenny observed that the second pair of footsteps belonged to Asparagus, Jelly's tomfriend. The brown and black tom dipped his head politely towards Jenny, obscuring his cream-coloured chest for a moment.

"Hey, guys. Yeah, I just finished breakfast. What are you two up to?" Jenny asked casually. She began strolling back in the direction of the center clearing, and her friends followed.

Gus chuckled as he answered before his queenfriend could. "Jelly told me you met a tom down by the train station yesterday. She refused to tell me anything else, though. Care to fill me in on your romantic adventure?" He proposed in his silky, but inquisitive voice. It wasn't hard to see why Jelly had fallen for him. Not only was he a rising star in the theatre industry, he was also the kindest, most timid tom Jenny had ever met. While Jelly was loud and easily excitable, he was reserved and placid. They complimented each other perfectly.

Jenny scoffed and flicked her tail in irritation. _Of_ _course_ Jelly had told Gus about the events of yesterday afternoon. She was surprised the brown and white tabby queen hadn't blabbed out the whole thing; she normally couldn't contain the urge to gossip. "It was hardly romantic. The tom I met was named Skimbleshanks and he took care of Jelly and I after that group of mongrel cats attacked us. Macavity ditched us, and if it wasn't for Skimble and his friend Coilin, we would have been raped and murdered, most likely." Jenny explained unenthusiastically.

Gus nodded with a serious countenance. "Macavity made it back here without you, and he was worried sick all night. His story closely matches yours in regards with those criminals assaulting you two. He's glad you're safe."

Jelly smiled at the news. She and Jenny were also concerned for the young ginger tom, and they were happy he wasn't injured. Jelly nudged her friend and informed Gus, "That's not _all_ that happened, though. Tell Gussy what Skimble said when he dropped us off, Jenny." The brown and white queen acquired a new spring in her step as she walked along.

"Really, Jelly?" The yellow and orange tabby queen groaned, "Do I need to explain to Gus how much of a nervous wreck Skimble was?"

"Skimble wasn't _that_ nervous! Just tell him what he said!" Jellylorum demanded impatiently. Gus pricked his ears in interest. If his queenfriend was this persistent about whatever this tom said, it had to be important.

Jenny crossed her forelegs over her chest and sighed in defeat. "Skimble told me that he enjoyed my company and he wanted me to visit him at the station sometime." She said in the most sarcastic, unexcited voice she could manage.

Gus smirked knowingly and waited for his queenfriend to calm down from her sudden squeal of joy. Once Jelly was quiet enough he remarked, "That sounds to me like an attempt to ask you out on a date."

"I _know_, right? That's what I said! Jenny was all like, 'No, I don't have time.' So I ribbed her and said, 'Sure, she'd love to!' We're going there today to get Jenny here some alone time with Skimble." Jelly giggled at her friend's scowl.

The yellow and orange tabby queen huffed and shot back, "We are not going back there. This was just a one-time thing. I bet Skimble has forgotten all about me by now."

Gus laughed and said, "Au contraire, Jennyanydots, I believe Skimble has a fancy for you if he asked you to spend time with him. Take it from someone who's been there. The first time I asked Jelly out, I almost-"

"-gagged because he was _so_ nervous, he chocked on his own spit!" Jelly finished, erupting into a fit of giggles.

"I did not _gag_, Jellylorum. You were so beautiful that I was simply lost for words. You still leave me breathless, _mon amour_." With Jelly satisfied, the actor resumed, "As I was saying, we went to go see a play my good friend was in, and I couldn't stop thinking about her between the minute I asked her to the actual night of the production. If you think Skimble wasn't serious, you are very wrong." Gus advised, giving his queenfriend a loving nuzzle.

Jenny knew she couldn't argue with her two best friends and win. It was impossible with their experience from their own relationship versus her stubbornness. "Fine, you win. We'll go today at four." She agreed reluctantly. Jelly gave her a quick hug and grabbed her paw.

"We're telling your parents right now that you're going on a _date_!" The brown and white tabby queen called to her friend as she tugged her along. Asparagus kept pace with them as they jogged to Jenny's den. Once inside, Jenny's parents smiled in greeting from their places at the table.

Jenny's father smirked knowingly as he motioned for the trio to sit down. There were only two available chairs, since the other two were occupied by Jenny's mother and father. Asparagus had no problem standing behind Jelly's chair. "Let me guess: this has something to do with that Skimbleshanks fellow you two mentioned last night." Jenny's father chuckled as he took in his daughter's irritated expression. He knew she got that way whenever either dating or a tom was mentioned. The older pair of cats looked expectantly at the young trio.

"Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner." Jenny confirmed sarcastically, "Skimble asked me out and Jelly's forcing me to go against my will. Can you please explain to her that I'm _not_ interested?"

Jenny's mother reached a paw out to her daughter and squeezed it comfortingly. "Why, that's wonderful that a tom asked you to go on a date with him! We can gather he's responsible and kind if he took such good care of you two yesterday. Why don't you want to give the young tom a chance, dear? He seems like a nice boy!" The elder yellow tabby queen furrowed her brow.

"I don't have time because of my studying, Mom. Having a tomfriend will just get in the way, and I'm afraid I'll disappoint you if I fall behind!" Jenny complained exasperatedly.

The yellow tabby queen laughed lightly and shook her head. "I'll understand, don't you worry! If you make time for love, then nursing can wait. I won't get angry with you if you don't spend 24 hours a day with your nose in my notes! Have some fun and take a chance with this tom. It won't hurt you if you just try." She reassured the younger queen, and her mate nodded fervently beside her. Jenny still didn't seem convinced, even with her parents' approval.

Jenny's father could tell from the hesitation in his daughter's eyes that there was more to this than just the worry of falling behind on studying. "That's not the only reason you don't want a tomfriend, is it? Tell us what else is bothering you, honey." He prompted in his gruff voice.

The young queen bit her lip to delay her response. She stared down at the surface of the table as she muttered vehemently, "What if…What if he doesn't like me? What if he finds out that I'm not as good he thought I was?" There was a desperate, pleading essence to her eyes that silenced even the chatty Jellylorum.

"Whatever do you mean, dear? What's not to like about you?" Jenny's mother asked gently.

Jennyanydots clenched her paw into a fist as she replied bitterly, "There are a ton of things about me that could turn him away. I know nothing else besides nursing, so he'll probably find me boring beyond belief. I don't know how to flirt or be confident around toms. I spend so much time studying that I know nothing about the worldly events around me. My social skills are horrible and I'm so shy that I probably won't even be able to talk to Skimble!" Her bottom lip began to quiver by the end of her rant, and Jelly pulled her friend into a comforting hug.

"Don't you dare say those things about yourself, Jenny. You're intelligent, super kind, beautiful, and if Skimble doesn't see those qualities in you, then he's not worth your time. I'm sure he will, though. They're impossible to miss. He'll like you for who you are, trust me!" The brown and white tabby queen beamed.

Jenny managed a tiny smile at her friend's motivational words. She returned the hug gazed around at the cats surrounding her. If her family and friends believed these things to be true, then they had to be. "Thanks everyone, I feel a lot better now. I think I will let Skimble take me out. It's barely noon right now, though. What are we going to do for the next four hours before he gets off work?" She pondered aloud.

Jelly and Gus exchanged knowing smiles. "We'll educate you on the do's and don'ts of dating. That and we have to get you prettied up for tonight." Jelly provided excitedly. She bid farewell to Jenny's parents and the trio set off again, this time in the direction of a secluded clearing. There, Jelly and Gus explained in great detail of how to go about behaving oneself during a date. This was all new to Jenny, since this was actually her first real date. She didn't count the times Tugger had tried and failed to hit on her.

"Okay, first thing you want to do is just be yourself. A tom hates it when queens lie to make themselves seem like someone they're not. Don't make up things about yourself that aren't true because the truth will eventually come out and it won't be pretty." Asparagus advised seriously. Jenny nodded firmly at the tom who sat across from her.

It was Jelly's turn next. "Don't let him kiss you on the first date. Cheek is fine, and in your case paw," she instructed, "but not lips. If he kisses you on the lips, don't go back to him. That's a sign that he just wants to seduce you. Oh, and watch his body language. That's a sure-fire way to determine his emotions, so if he does something stupid, you'll have a reason to pardon him."

The brown and black tom cocked his head at Jelly. "Why did you say paw? Does anyone except us do that anymore?" He queried. Gus liked to be old-fashioned, and he knew his queenfriend found it endearing.

Jelly giggled and whispered in Gus' ear, "Skimble has this thing where he calls Jenny 'Miss Jenny' and he has a habit of kissing her paw, like you do. It's so cute!"

"I can hear you two." Jenny growled at the not-so-secretive pair.

Gus chuckled and pulled away from Jelly to focus on his friend. "Skimble sounds like a classy tom. You don't find many traditional toms like that, Jenny. I approve of this guy." He commented sincerely.

Jenny rolled her eyes, but allowed her friends to resume giving her advice. When the sun indicated it was nearing three o'clock, Jelly rushed her yellow and orange friend into her den to prepare her for the date. On their way, they passed by Macavity. The ginger tom smiled in relief when he saw the two queens he had lost.

"I was so worried about you two! Did those crooks hurt you?" Macavity inquired with his brow furrowed in concern.

Jenny and Jelly shook their heads, and Macavity sighed as if a great burden had been lifted off his shoulders. A few things still remained vague on the subject of Mac's behaviour during the previous afternoon, however. "Mac, why did you ditch us just before the railway toms reached us? We thought the criminals had catnapped you, or something." Jenny recounted with her own worried expression.

Macavity merely shrugged. "They did, and they kept me prisoner for a few hours, but I managed to fight them off and escape back here. They didn't hurt me that much, even if it appeared otherwise." He explained non-chalantly.

"Hold on, I thought you said they were your friends, Mac? Why would they drag you off and hold you captive?" Jelly questioned.

The ginger tom gave her a disbelieving look. "_Friends_? Why in Heaviside would you think those disgusting mongrels were my _friends? _They just assaulted us out of nowhere and knocked me out for a bit. I'm really glad those railway toms stepped in when they did. I don't want to think about what those baddies would have done to you if they hadn't come…" His eyes took on a grim essence.

Jenny raised a skeptical eyebrow. She distinctly remembered Macavity saying that he had business he had to take care of first with his so-called "friends" before they could get to the train station. Why was he denying himself? "Yes, Jelly's right. You said they were your friends and you got a package from them. What was in it, anyway?" Jenny backed the brown and white queen up with her own evidence.

Macavity smirked as if he found Jenny's words amusing. "What package?" He answered innocently, "I never received anything from those guys. Are you sure you didn't dream this up after I saw them knock you two out? Those toms attacked us and dragged me off with them before the station fuzz-I mean railway toms-could catch them."

"Are you calling Jenny and Jelly liars, Mac?" Asparagus growled threateningly.

The ginger tom smiled and reassured Gus, "No, no, I would never! I'm just saying they're mistaken, that's all! Plus, you know how queens like to exaggerate things. Well, I must be off. Good afternoon, you three." He dipped his head in farewell and continued on his way, whistling an abstract tune.

After a moment of confounded silence Jenny hissed disapprovingly, "I smell a rat."

Jelly glanced around rapidly as she licked her lips. "Where?" She demanded excitedly.

Jenny rolled her eyes and batted her friend over the ears. "I mean Macavity, you silly goose! Something's up with that tom…" She glowered after the disappearing form of the ginger tom.

"Oh, yeah! Definitely! He's acting really strange…You believe us, right Gussy?" Jelly asked her tomfriend sweetly. Gus nodded fervently in confirmation. The trio walked briskly to Jenny's den to prepare said queen for her date. Asparagus was forced to wait outside while Jelly made the necessary improvements to her best friend's appearance. When she was done, Jenny's fur was groomed to perfection and she was wearing the pearl necklace her mother had given her for her eighteenth birthday. They stepped out into the late afternoon sunshine and Asparagus gasped in delight at Jenny's transformation.

"How do I look?" The yellow and orange tabby queen asked timidly.

"Drop-dead gorgeous." Gus complimented with a wolf-whistle, "Skimbleshanks will be floored when he sees you!"

Jenny blushed at the kind words, and Jelly ushered the two towards the fence. "Yes, yes, you look like a princess! Now stop jabbering and get going! It's almost four and we don't want to make Skimble wait!" She said tersely and climbed over the fence with her friends.

As they walked along Jenny inquired, "What will you guys be doing while I'm on my date with Skimble?"

Gus and Jelly smiled and the former replied, "I'm going to take Jelly out dancing and then maybe we'll have a steamy make-out session in the back room afterwards. We'll let Skimble escort you back home."

Jenny giggled at the actor's shamelessness, but was surprised when Jelly gave him a light whack on his upper foreleg. "What do you mean '_maybe_'?" The brown and white queen spat accusingly with narrowed eyes.

Jelly's tomfriend pulled his partner close and corrected himself. "Okay, we _will_ have a steamy make-out session in the back room afterwards. Better?" He purred as Jelly pecked his lips in appreciation. Jenny groaned inwardly at her friends' public display of affection. She averted her gaze as a twinge of envy constricted her heart for a moment. She was quiet for the rest of the trip to the train station.

Upon arriving on the platform of the Riverside London Station, Jenny and Jelly scanned between the legs of the surprisingly few humans for Skimbleshanks.

"What does this guy look like?" Gus asked as he looked around. He could see some toms in waistcoats, some his age and others older, but apparently none were Skimbleshanks.

"We're looking for a tom my age in a waistcoat." Jenny replied, not taking her eyes off her surroundings.

Asparagus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Umm newsflash, they're _all_ wearing waistcoats. What does his coat look like?" He stated the obvious.

"Look for an orange tabby." Jenny advised, not noticing her obliviousness.

After a few more minutes of searching, they still couldn't find Skimble. However, Jenny spotted Coilin, who eagerly waved them over. The white and gray-patched tom smiled as the trio halted in front of him. "I didn't expect you to be back here so soon! How's that ol' noggin of yours?" The Irish tom motioned to Jenny's head.

"It's fine. Have you seen Skimble around?" The yellow and orange queen queried.

Coilin tapped his chin for a moment. He pointed to a train that had humans departing from it in an orderly fashion. "I believe he's helping those people over there with luggage. He couldn't stop blathering about you since he got back yesterday. It's been driving me crazy, but I'm happy for him." He chuckled light-heartedly and gave Jenny a small push in the direction of the train. Jelly and Asparagus stayed by Coilin to give Jenny and Skimble some space.

Jennyanydots took deep breaths to calm her racing heart as she approached the luggage car. She told herself it was silly to be so nervous, but it didn't do much. A small smile graced her lips as a familiar orange tabby tom stepped down from the car and waved the passengers off. He didn't notice Jenny coming up behind him. When the tabby queen tapped his shoulder, he spun around with a start.

Skimble's cheeks flushed a light pink as he recognized the queen who had surprised him. "You gave me a scare there, Miss Jenny. I-I didn't think you'd take m-my offer up so soon. How are you?" The Scottish tom greeted in a rush of words.

Jenny giggled and held her paw out for him, anticipating his next movement. Skimble smiled, gently lifted it up to his lips, and kissed it. He gave it a soft squeeze before letting go.

"Jellylorum can be very persuasive." Jenny commented. At Skimble's disappointed glance she added, "N-Not that I didn't want to come, it's just…you know…"She trailed off, biting her lip. This wasn't how she imagined the date starting out.

"You're very busy, yes?" The orange tabby tom finished for her, albeit dishearteningly.

Jenny nodded reluctantly. "Between my nursing and making sure Jelly doesn't overwhelm her tomfriend, I don't have time for much else." She explained with a light giggle, but it sounded slightly forced.

Skimble's face brightened as this new information caught his attention. "You're a nurse? Where do you work?" He questioned.

At this the yellow and orange queen hesitated. Gus' advice to be herself came to mind, but Skimble was already slightly disappointed in her. He already knew she _lived_ in a junkyard, and it would look even worse if she told him she _worked_ there, too, or that she wasn't actually a full-fledged nurse yet. "Yeah, I work in uhh…the West London Veterinary Hospital. Just like you help out your stationmasters, Jelly and I help out the vets with their patients. It helps a lot when you have someone who understands you by your side." Jenny cringed inwardly as the white lie passed through her lips. She didn't want to lie to Skimble…But what she said wasn't completely untrue. She and Jelly _were_ both nurses, just not professional. They merely didn't work at the first prestigious place that came to Jenny's mind.

"That's impressive. I heard it takes a lot of talent and rigorous training to get in there. You must love what you do." Skimble nodded, a bit more at ease now. Jenny smiled in agreement, just glad that he had believed her. The orange tabby tom glanced past Jenny and noticed Jelly standing by Coilin and an unfamiliar tom. He gestured to the trio and he and Jenny strode over.

Skimble extended a paw to Jelly as he greeted, "Good afternoon, Jellylorum. What brings you and your uhh…friend here?" Once Jelly shook his paw, he let Gus shake it as well.

"My name is Asparagus, but please call me Gus. I'm Jelly's tomfriend. Pleased to meet you, Skimbleshanks." Gus answered for himself.

Skimble's expression became astonished as he realized who he was talking to. "Excuse me for asking lad, but weren't you the tom who acted with Irving for the production of '_Holby City_'?" He questioned a tad shyly.

Asparagus nodded humbly. "Yes, that was me. I hate to be so curt, but we really ought to be leaving. Jelly and I are going dancing." He waved his friends farewell and hurried off with his queenfriend.

"I have paperwork to fill out in my office. I'll leave you two lovebirds alone, yeah?" Coilin winked at the pair and disappeared into the thickening crowd of humans. Skimble and Jenny were suddenly left to themselves.

"Well, isn't this my lucky day! I meet two successful nurses _and_ a well-known actor! Not to mention take a bonnie lass out." The orange tabby tom's voice quieted on the last phrase, but Jenny had no problem hearing him. She blushed almost imperceptibly at the compliment.

A look of worry crossed Skimble's countenance as something came up in his mind. "Oh dear, if I knew you were coming, I would have prepared something…But alas, that was not meant to be. Would you mind coming with me to my home? I have to put this waistcoat away." He offered with a shrug. Jenny smiled slightly and followed him. They crossed the tracks and made their way to a run-down shed that was meant to house train cars that were no longer utilized, or being taken apart for scrap. Skimble led Jenny inside the cavernous, wooden shed and into a dilapidated, rusting train car.

"This is my home. This used to be a cargo car before they got new, more modernized ones. The humans parked this one in here and haven't touched it ever since. That was seven years ago, mind you. I've lived in it for about two now. It's nicer inside, don't worry!" Skimble laughed at Jenny's disgusted expression. When he unlocked the heavy, gigantic door, he slid it open just enough so he could slip through. Jenny climbed in as well, and gasped in awe at what she found inside.

The space was dimly lit by a lone light bulb that was connected to a pair of batteries. A thick, purple curtain hung on a rope from the ceiling and separated Skimble's living area from the rest of the train car. There was a dog-sized mattress in one corner that was covered in soft-looking cushions and a couple blankets. A tiny stove was located in the middle of the area, but it had no fire in the furnace under it. A plastic tub of water sat right beside this furnace and a small shelf lined with books was up against the wall near the door. A child's desk and chair was situated beside the bookshelf in the other corner, which had a mess of papers on it.

"It's very luxurious compared to my home…Where did you get all this furniture?" Jenny questioned as she scanned the volumes on the bookshelf. To her surprise, they were all classic novels in immaculate condition. In fact, the whole place didn't have a speck of dust anywhere. Jenny noticed a sort of stick poking out from the bottom shelf. As she crouched to get a better look, she couldn't help but notice a plugged bottle of Scotch and a few glasses on the second-last shelf. Upon closer inspection, she noticed the stick wasn't a stick at all, but the bow for a violin. The violin itself lay beside it.

Skimble shrugged as he unbuttoned his waistcoat and hung it on the back of his chair. "I found the cushions when they were dropped off at the station as garbage, and the rest Coilin and I found by the docks from people who were renovating their ships. It happens more often than you think, lassie. Captains are very picky about how their quarters look." The orange tabby tom explained matter-of-factly. He noticed Jenny admiring his violin and continued, "Beautiful instrument, isn't it? Coilin has been teaching me to play it ever since I was a wee kit."

"Is Coilin your father?" Jenny asked, standing up from her crouched position.

"My father? He looks old enough to be, doesn't he? No, my father passed away before I was born. My mother died shortly after I was born, and Coilin took me in. I've lived and worked at this station all my life. When I turned seventeen, Coilin helped me get my own place, which is what you see here." The orange tabby tom elucidated as he plopped himself down on his bed.

Jenny nodded and mumbled sadly, "I'm sorry…I never thought you'd be an orphan. So that makes you nineteen, then? We're the same age." She ended on a more pleasant note.

Skimble waved the orphan comment off. "Coilin said he knew my parents. My dad was a drunkard who didn't give a damn about my Ma, and my Ma was what you'd call a mated prostitute. I guess you could say they had me by accident. Would you like a drink?" He offered as he walked over and reached past Jenny to pull out the bottle of Scotch and two glasses.

"No thanks, I don't drink alcohol. Are you…disappointed? In your parents, I mean." The yellow and orange queen queried as Skimble poured himself a glass. He strode to the middle of the room with the bottle and downed the glass in one gulp, as if trying to delay his answer. He poured more Scotch into it, but merely swished it around this time, contemplating on how to reply. His gaze remained intent on the glimmering, caramel-coloured liquid as it swirled under the dim light above. A tense silence filled the air, and Jenny felt guilty that she had struck a tender spot.

Skimble brought the glass to his lips and sipped it before finally responding, "Sort of…I mean, if they lived, I would have more than likely hated them. It wouldn't have been a very dignified upbringing either, now would it? On the other paw, it would have been nice to see what my parents looked like…who they were…what they sounded like…but it's alright. I would have probably run away at one point or other if I lived in an abusive family like that." He glanced at Jenny, who wore a sympathetic expression. "Enough talk about me. What's your family like?" He changed the depressing subject.

Jenny shrugged casually. "My mom is a nurse like me, my dad lives at home. I don't have any brothers or sisters. We have a nice home in the Jellicle Junkyard, but it's nothing compared to yours. We're pretty average, I guess. Nothing special."

"Well, I think we're done in here. I can take my violin with me to the pier and play you something, if you like. I hear the river is pretty beautiful at this time of day." The orange tabby tom offered as he brought the violin out. It was worn and obviously used quite a bit. Jenny followed Skimble outside, and the orange tabby tom shut the door of the train car. When the pair emerged back into the sunshine, the sun was much lower in the sky. It wasn't quite sunset, but the river still shimmered like gold as it flowed along. The two made their way to the docks and sat down on a secluded pier, far away from the hustle and bustle of the unloading merchant ships.

Once they were seated, Skimble settled the violin on his shoulder and ran the full length of the bow along the strings to test it. Satisfied, he began to play a tune he knew like the back of his paw. The lilting sound of the violin resembled someone singing, or as close as an instrument could get to it. While Skimble played, he closed his eyes and began to sing softly to himself in a baritone voice that Jenny found herself getting lost in as she listened.

_By yon bonnie banks an' by yon bonnie braes_

_Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond_

_Where me an' my true love will ne-er meet again _

_On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond._

_O ye'll take the high road, and I'll take the low road_

_And I'll be in Scotland afore ye_

_For me an' my true love will ne-er meet again_

_On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond._

Skimble's voice faded away, and he opened his green eyes with a sheepish smile. "Sorry, that was a bit blue…It certainly doesn't fit the current situation."

Jenny shook her head. "I liked it. You're a very good singer, and you play with such passion." She commented, grinning in encouragement.

"Thank you. I'm happy you like my music, but I'm hardly a competent singer." The orange tabby tom shrugged modestly. His expression turned contemplative as he gazed down at his violin for a few moments. Then he glanced back up at Jenny, who was watching him inquisitively. "Would you…Would you like to learn how to play it…?" He queried tentatively. He almost sighed in relief when Jenny nodded. Skimble skirted behind her and placed the instrument on her left shoulder. He placed the bow in her right paw, and lifted it so that it was resting on the strings.

The orange tabby tom held the violin with her and placed his paws over hers. He positioned her fingers so that she was ready to play a certain chord. "Right, now this is called a C chord." He explained softly, resting his chin on her right shoulder. Jenny nodded, and with his foreleg guiding hers, he played the chord with her.

Jenny giggled with delight as the violin produced a clear, smooth tone. With her enthusiasm encouraging him, Skimble taught her some other basic chords. He even taught her how to make a violin's distinctive vibrato by rapidly shifting her paw from side to side to produce the trilling noise. Jenny enjoyed herself thoroughly under the instruction of the Scottish tom, and before she realized how much time had gone by, it was already well past sunset. A cold wind blew up from the river, causing her to nestle herself closer against Skimble's body for warmth.

"You're cold, lassie. The weather isn't in agreement with us anymore, is it? I suppose that's enough for tonight. I'll take you back home, alright?" Skimbleshanks said as he took his violin back and sat beside Jenny once more. The yellow and orange queen whined slightly in protest that the date had to be cut short, but stood up and followed Skimble back to his home. She waited outside the train car so he could put his violin back, and then the pair began the journey back to the junkyard.

While they walked Jenny spoke up, "I had a really fun time with you tonight, Skimbleshanks. I think we should do this again sometime."

"Really? Y-You want to go on an-another date?" Skimble replied with an astonished expression. Inside, his heart leapt at the thought that she wanted to see him again.

"Yeah, maybe we could go out for dinner, or something? I like being around you, Skimble. You're a very patient teacher, and I'd love to learn how to play some songs." The yellow and orange queen smiled.

Skimbleshanks fiddled with his paws for a minute before he said softly, "Umm…I can cook, if you want me to prepare dinner. I'm not a very wealthy tom, so I'm not sure if I could afford to take you out…" He averted his gaze in embarrassment.

Jenny wasn't surprised to hear this, although the fact that Skimble would willingly admit he was poor showed her he wasn't afraid to be honest. _"Unlike some queens I know…"_ She scolded herself mentally. "It doesn't matter. I like a home-cooked meal better than a restaurant one, anyway. It has more heart to it, you know?" She reassured the orange tabby tom.

Skimble gave her a sincere smile, but frowned as the Jellicle Junkyard's fence came into view. The pair halted by the barrier that separated Jenny's home from the street. "I guess this is where we part ways. I enjoyed our time together, Miss Jenny. When will I see you again?" The orange tabby tom asked, his eyes full of hope.

"Today's Friday, right? How about Sunday evening?" Jenny offered politely. She remembered Skimble had weekends off.

The tabby tom nodded firmly and took Jenny's paw, but instead of kissing it, he pulled himself closer and softly pressed his lips to her cheek instead. He pulled away, leaving a slightly stunned queen. "Until then, Miss Jenny. Goodnight." He bowed his head and walked off, disappearing into the shadows.

Jenny came out of her stupor quickly and let a dreamy sigh escape her lips. She hopped over the fence and tip-toed into her den, careful not to wake her sleeping parents. Her dreams were filled with lilting violin music that night.


	3. The Habits of Rats: Feline or Otherwise

**A/N: Sorry this took so long! I'm working on two stories at once, so I take turns updating them. Anyway, thanks to all my readers and reviewers! Though there are few of you, that doesn't mean I don't overlook you guys! Thanks and enjoy!**

"Jenny! Jenny, wake up!" Jellylorum's peppy voice registered as a faint twitter in Jennyanydots' sluggish, waking mind. She felt her shoulder being gently shaken and the movement, along with the ever-present tweet of her friend's voice, annoyed her. Jenny swatted Jelly's paw away with an irritated groan and rolled over in her nest, indicating that she wanted to sleep. She had stayed up late enough last night with Skimble on the pier, and at the moment she didn't care how long she had slept in.

"C'mon, Jenny! Gus and I want to hear about your date! Wake up!" The brown and white tabby queen whined like an impatient kitten. Sometimes, more often than not, Jenny wondered if her friend had ever really grown out of the kit stage.

Deciding that the persistent Jellylorum wasn't going to leave her alone to sleep, Jenny yawned and blinked her eyes open. She rolled over again to face her grinning best friend with a scowl. Jelly merely patted her shoulder and greeted, "Good morning! I'll let you have breakfast and then you _have_ to spill about yesterday!" When her request was accepted by another groan from Jenny, the brown and white queen bounded out of the den.

The yellow and orange tabby queen crawled out of bed and stretched before frowning at her parents. Breakfast was already underway between them; a steaming plate of mousecakes was laid out for her. Despite her negative countenance, Jenny's mother motioned to the untouched plate with a welcoming smile.

Jenny shuffled over and sat down with an unchanged expression. "Who let _that_ in here? You know I hate being forced to wake up in the morning." She grumbled, taking a stab at a mousecake with her fork and shoving it into her mouth. Jenny jerked a thumb over her shoulder to indicate that she meant Jelly.

A light-hearted laugh emanated from her father's lips as he replied, "What was I supposed to do? Tackle her? You can't blame her for being excited. It _was_ your first date, after all. May we be the first to hear how it went? Did Skimbleshanks behave himself?" His tone became more serious on the last phrase.

"Dad," the yellow and orange queen rolled her eyes with a sigh, "don't be absurd. You're too old to tackle anyone." Her voice became bored as she continued, "It wasn't that exciting. He showed me his home, which is in a cargo car, and then played his violin for me at the pier. He taught me to play a bit, and then he took me home. No big deal, it wasn't super romantic or anything. We're going out again tomorrow evening."

Jenny's parents eyed their daughter skeptically for a moment. Her father broke the silence that had settled over them. "He took you to his home? What's his family like?" He questioned curiously, but it sounded more like he was trying to interrogate the young queen.

The yellow and orange queen bit her lip. "Skimble…doesn't have a biological family. Coilin, the tom who helped Jelly and I, is like a father-figure to him, though. His home is very nice, much more…refined than ours." Her voice turned timid as she used her fork to toy with the half-eaten mousecake on her plate.

"I see. The boy's an orphan. Did anything…_happen _between you two?" The calico tom queried a bit awkwardly.

Jenny shot her father an appalled look, while her mother giggled behind her paw at her daughter's reaction. "No! Dad, that's disgusting! Skimble would never try something like that!" She denied furiously while heat rose to her cheeks. Why would her father even bring up such a subject?

Jenny's mother stopped giggling to place a paw on her daughter's. "We're just checking, dear. We don't want you to go off getting a mate without consulting us first. You know how tradition works here, right?" The elder queen said with an eyebrow raised expectantly.

The yellow and orange tabby queen nodded and recited the rule that had been hammered into her head since she turned eighteen at last year's Jellicle Ball. "I can't mate with a tom until both of us get a blessing from each other's parents, as well as our own. I _know._ Bast, I'm not even thinking about matehood right now. I just happened to get a tomfriend because of Jelly's _brilliant_ idea to go to the train station." She said with heavy sarcasm laced into her voice.

"Oh, there's no need for sarcasm! Tradition is tradition and there's no getting around that. Speaking of tomfriends, when can we meet this Skimbleshanks? We'd like to know just who caught our daughter's fancy." Jenny's mother suggested, much to the displeasure of her daughter.

Jennyanydots shoved the last piece of her mousecake into her mouth to delay answering. There was only one problem with this: if the subject of work was brought up, she would be in deep trouble because Skimble didn't know she was training to be the next Gumbie Cat, and he didn't know she wasn't employed at the West London Veterinary Hospital. "Umm…Maybe…Skimble's just really busy with his own work and he barely has time for himself, let alone me. I'll let you know, okay?" She responded a bit hurriedly. Before her parents could comment on her sudden impatience, Jenny thanked them for the meal and briskly trotted out of the den. Her parents exchanged glances, but brushed the episode off, assuming she was in a hurry to tell Jelly about the date. The energetic brown and white tabby probably couldn't contain her excitement for much longer, anyway.

When Jenny emerged from her den, she found just who she was looking for. Jellylorum was waiting expectantly by the trash pile opposite the den. The brown and white queen had a wide, joyful smile plastered on her face. As Jenny came closer, Jelly pushed herself off of the pile she was leaning against and extended a paw to her friend. The yellow and orange queen took it, and Jelly immediately broke into a jog as she giggled jovially. Jenny sighed in a good-natured manner as they travelled to a more remote clearing.

Once they had reached a secluded area where Jelly was sure no one could hear them, she plopped herself down in the middle of it, consequently taking Jenny down with her. Jelly leaned forward with her ears pricked and hind legs crossed. "Okay, I want to know _everything_ that happened yesterday with Skimble. Spill!" She demanded with an excited laugh.

Jennyanydots rolled her eyes as the same feeling she got whenever she talked about toms returned. She knew Jelly deserved to know, as this was originally her idea, but the words never came easily when she tried to gush about romance. "Skimble showed me his home, we went to the pier, and he played his violin for me. Then he taught me to play it a little bit and took me back home. We're going out again tomorrow." Jenny recounted for her enthusiastic friend in the same bored voice she had used with her parents.

Jelly's jaw dropped at her friend's tone. She straightened up and remarked, "Either you had a horrible date with Skimble, or you're just trying to annoy me by sounding like you were bored out of your mind last night."

The yellow and orange tabby queen frowned. "You should know me better by now, Jelly. I can't gush about stuff like you can. Skimble was really sweet and gentletomly and he's a magnificent violin player. I had a wonderful time, honestly. I'm just not used to being as excited about toms as you are, that's all." She mumbled, drawing abstract pictures in the dirt with her claw. The sun shone bright overhead, with little more than a few puffy clouds making their journey across the sky.

Jellylorum's brow creased in concentration as she thought of a way to make her best friend more enthusiastic. When she met Jenny's eyes again after a minute she asked cheekily, "What did you like best about the date? What was the most romantic thing that happened?"

This was a no-brainer for Jenny. She lips instantly curled up into a smile. "Skimble serenaded me with his violin. He sang a song for me and his voice was a good as Gus'. I'd say the most romantic thing Skimble did was teach me how to play his violin. He wrapped his arms around me and guided my paws with his. It was perfect." Jenny said dreamily, her eyes growing distant for a moment as she relived the memories in her mind.

"Aww, that's so cute! See, I told you that getting a tomfriend was a good idea! Look how much more relaxed and happy you've become! What are you planning to do tomorrow?" The brown and white tabby queen questioned with a smirk.

Jenny shrugged. "I don't know. I'm meeting Skimble in the evening, and I guess whatever he has planned will be a surprise."

"Ooh I bet it'll be something super romantic!" Jelly made to continue speaking, but pricked her ears as distant laughter was heard somewhere down the path. After a few more seconds, the laughter became significantly louder. It was clear that it was coming from two cats; one was deeper and the other was higher, which meant a tom and a queen were making their way to the clearing Jelly and Jenny now sat in. "Someone's coming! Hide!" Jelly squeaked as she grabbed her friend's paw and dove behind the nearest discarded dryer. They used an upturned box behind it to peer over the edge or out from the side.

As the pair of queens waiting in suspense and anticipation, the laughter reached its peak and they saw a silver tabby tom and a gold and black queen enter the clearing, chasing each other. Jelly shot Jenny a quizzical look and whispered, "What's Munk doing with Dem-"Before she could finish the name, the yellow and orange tabby queen clapped a paw over her mouth to silence her.

Munkustrap ran after Demeter, who obviously had something of his in her paws. It was a black book. Jenny squinted and realized it was Munk's songbook, the one that contained all the songs for the Jellicle Ball as well as some notes for choreography. The yellow and orange queen giggled inwardly. Dem was always stealing Munk's books to annoy him; she was like a big sister to him, though he was smitten with her. They were both eighteen, which made Demeter one year younger than her tomfriend Macavity.

The younger silver tabby was quickly gaining on his kitten-hood friend, as his stride was longer and he was much faster than she was. Munk tackled her from behind in an attempt to swipe his songbook back when he tripped over his own feet, sending them both tumbling to the ground. Jelly suppressed a giggle so she wouldn't blow her cover. When the dust cleared, the silver tabby tom was lying on top of Demeter, frozen in shock. The black and gold queen looked just as surprised herself. She still held the book in her outstretched paw, out of reach of Munk.

The two cats stared at each other for an agonizingly long moment, panting to catch their breath. That was the only noise in the otherwise still clearing. Gradually, Munk began to relax. He brought his head down slowly, gauging Demeter's reaction with his emerald green eyes. It was beyond Jenny why the black and gold queen wasn't reacting like she thought she should. Dem had a tomfriend! Why in Heaviside was she so accepting of Munkustrap's actions right now?

"Oh no…He's not gonna…?"Jelly peeped, leaning more and more out from the side of the dryer to get a better view. Just as Munk's lips were millimeters from Dem's, the brown and white tabby queen leaned too far out, lost her balance, and tumbled out from her hiding spot with a surprised shriek; right into full view of the pair of cats she had been observing.

Munk hastily scrambled off of Demeter and helped her up. Both looked as flustered as ever and Munkustrap was chuckling awkwardly. Once the silver tabby collected his thoughts he stammered, "Uhh…I-It's not what i-it l-l-looks like…We weren't-"

"-Yes you were!" Jelly interrupted in an accusing tone, "You were just about to kiss Dem! If Macavity hears about this, he's going to rip your head off, Munk! What were you thinking?" She appeared to be more worried about the aftermath than the actual event itself.

The young tom opened his mouth to speak, but shut it once more. He didn't have the words to explain himself so he just stared down at his hind paws, completely embarrassed. Demeter placed a comforting paw on his shoulder and assured him, "It's alright, Munk. I'm not angry at you for trying to kiss me. I understand how you feel about me, so it's not like I'm going to hold a grudge against you or anything. Here's your book back. See you later, okay?" With that she gently placed the little black book in his paws and left the clearing. Jenny and Jelly stared after her, dumbstruck themselves.

After a full minute of silence, Jenny remarked, "Wow…Dem was so cool about the whole thing. I would have expected her to flip out, but she handled that really maturely."

Munkustrap merely sighed heavily, muttered an inaudible goodbye, and scaled up and over a low trash pile. He was out of sight within seconds. Jenny and Jelly spent the rest of the afternoon practicing their dancing skills in the center clearing with their other friends, and chatting as they traversed the winding paths of the junkyard. It was on one of these paths at twilight that they witnessed something particularly disturbing.

The pair was on their way back home for dinner when they heard low, quick voices from the other side of a nearby trash heap. Experience told them that there was nothing but a path there that led to the fence. Jenny and Jelly ducked behind the aforementioned trash pile, out of sight of whoever was talking. They could see Macavity and three other toms conversing with each other inside the fence. Upon closer inspection, Jenny realized the unknown toms were the same ones that had assaulted her, Jelly, and Macavity in the alley before Skimble and Coilin rescued them. Their coats were slightly less filthy this time, however. She could barely make out that the leader was a tortoiseshell tom, the cat on his right was a black and white harlequin, and the last mangy feline was a red tabby. They were all as disgusting and pitiful as Jenny remembered them. The leader was the one who was talking to Macavity. It sounded more like hissing to the pair of queens secretly spying on them.

"We almost got caught because of you last time, Mac. I don't want to risk that happening again." The tortoiseshell tom informed the Jellicle Protector.

Macavity squared his shoulders and commented positively, "So move the meeting place then, Darrum. As I told you before, you don't have to stop doing business with me just because of one slip-up."

Darrum sighed and shook his head. "Moving the meeting place is not my concern. My concern is that we now have witnesses. Those two queens you brought with you know about us. Why didn't you let us kill them? It would have saved you a lot of trouble, Macavity." He elucidated in a tired voice. It felt like he was trying to explain something to someone who didn't understand English.

"Those two dumb wenches were Jellicles. I am the Jellicle Protector and those queens were my responsibility. I would have been exiled for letting you kill them. If they weren't Jellicles, I would have been more than happy to let you and your pals slaughter them! Plus, they don't know a thing about the drugs and I'm keeping a low profile about the whole incident. Nobody knows, Darrum! We can continue business as usual! I'll even pay you more if I have to!" The ginger tom's optimistic voice took on the slightest pleading essence.

The tortoiseshell tom rested his chin on his bruised, scabbed knuckles for a moment, weighing his options. He opened his mouth to speak, but the red tabby beside him answered instead. "No way! You're too risky to do business with now, Macavity! You don't know if those queens are going to spill to someone in your tribe. Find some other pot dealer because we're taking off!" He sneered in a higher-pitched voice. It was clear he was still an adolescent.

The leader raised his paw to strike the young tabby, but stopped himself. "If that weren't such a practical idea, you would be screaming in pain right now. Yes, my little brother is right. You are too dangerous to continue doing business with, Macavity. If you weren't a high-status Jellicle, things would be different. Unfortunately, that is not the case and we are drug dealers, not gamblers. Good evening, Macavity." He snapped his fingers and spun around on his heel. The three toms melted back into the shadows from whence they had come.

Macavity's shoulders drooped as he slowly turned around. "Jennyanydots? Jellylorum? You can come out now. There is no need to hide." He requested in a surprisingly calm voice. If Jenny had just been let down like that, she would have been quite angry.

Jenny and Jelly exchanged questioning, nervous glances, but the answer soon came to them as they obliged. The Jellicle Protector was a Conjurer who could easily sense the presences of anyone without seeing them, and who could read the minds of other cats.

Macavity pinched the bridge of his nose as he assumed, "You heard all that, didn't you?" When the pair nodded he continued, "Yes, I know I lied to you two, and Asparagus as well. That was just to ensure that rumors would not reach my parents that I am involved with drugs. Now, I know you're going to run off and tell them what you heard. That would be the natural thing to do, am I right?" His voice was still eerily pleasant.

Jenny and Jelly hesitated. Macavity caught Jenny's gaze and bored his topaz eyes into hers. The yellow and orange queen didn't feel any different; she just couldn't look away from Macavity for a few seconds. As soon as Mac dropped his eyes, Jenny felt a sort of relief that he wasn't staring at her anymore.

The ginger tom strode up to Jenny and roughly grabbed her shoulder. "Forgive me for just probing your memories. If you or Jellylorum tell _anyone_ about what went on here tonight, I will make sure that tomfriend of yours suffers a very painful, slow death. Is that understood my dear, dear Jennyanydots?" He didn't let go of her shoulder until she nodded her head fervently in confirmation. Macavity gave both queens his signature, charismatic half-smile before stepping back and disappearing in a cloud of white smoke.

Jenny and Jelly looked fearfully at one another for a moment. They bolted back to the center clearing and into their respective dens. They both didn't say a word at the dinner table that night and went to sleep much earlier than usual. Jenny's parents were concerned that a fight had occured between their daughter and Jelly, but the young yellow and orange tabby assured them it wasn't anything of the sort. They reluctantly left her in peace.

The next morning Jenny and Jelly didn't see hide or hair of Macavity. They were somewhat relieved that the intimidating tom wasn't around. He had scared them enough last night. The pair spent most of their day with Asparagus, and the actor noticed his queenfriend and Jenny were a little antsy.

"Is something wrong Jelly, love? You and Jenny seem stressed." The brown and black tom commented with a furrowed brow.

Jellylorum smiled at her tomfriend. "Of course not! Everything's fine, honestly. Jenny and I are just nervous because Jenny has her second date with Skimble tonight. It's normal to be nervous for a date, Gussy. _You_ of all cats should know that." She smirked as she folded her forelegs over her chest.

Gus chuckled and nuzzled the brown and white tabby queen. "If you say so, Jelly. Hey, it's around noon. Do you and Jenny want to hunt lunch with me?" He offered, still a bit skeptical.

Jelly grinned in confirmation, glad to have something to keep her mind off of last night. When a couple of mice were caught and consumed by each cat, they reclined on the TSE-1 and chatted about the events of the past week until it was time to get Jenny ready for her date. Jelly helped brush her best friend's fur out and fastened an elegant, navy blue collar around her neck. The tiny, fake diamonds that ordained it glimmered and sparkled in the setting sun. Gus and Jelly dropped Jenny off as usual at the train station. The actor and his queenfriend informed Jenny that they were going out for dinner and left as soon as the yellow and orange tabby queen spotted Skimbleshanks.

Skimble smiled broadly from his place on the bench as Jenny walked over to him. He looked handsome in his pressed, ebony waistcoat. As was his habit, he lifted her paw to his lips and softly kissed it in greeting. "It's a beautiful night tonight, isn't it? Come, I have a surprise for you." He purred and held her paw in his once more. Jenny giggled as his Scottish brogue made his already low voice sound all the more alluring. She forgot all about Macavity's threat from the previous night.

When they were near the docks where they had shared their first date, Skimble stepped behind Jenny and placed his paws on her shoulders. "Close your eyes and don't open them until I tell you to, alright lassie? No peeking." He requested with a mischievous smile. Jenny giggled again, but shut her eyes anyway. Skimble was acting like an over-enthusiastic kitten!

The orange tabby tom guided Jenny down the relatively empty docks and over to the one he had in mind. Since he was behind Jenny, he couldn't really see what was directly in front of him. When Skimble reached his destination, his heart was pounding in his chest and he hoped Jenny wouldn't mind that his paws were getting clammy. He stopped and whispered, "Alright, we're here. Open your eyes, lass."

Jenny gladly blinked her eyes open. She gasped in slight horror at the scene in front of her. "Oh dear…" Her voice was a mixture of disappointment and shock.

"What? You don't like…" Skimble trailed off as he looked over Jenny's shoulder. In front of them was a crumpled blanket, an overturned basket, and various foods a cat might enjoy, though most of it now mere remnants, were strewn about as if someone had ransacked the small picnic and ate their loot on the spot. The half-dozen culprits dashed away to the safety of the supporting beams under the dock, but one stayed and sat on its haunches, taunting its predators with beady, cunning eyes as it nibbled the rest of the meat off the chicken bone in its grubby, hairless paws. The rat fled in the same direction as its comrades had before Skimble could wring its tiny neck.

The orange tabby tom whimpered in defeat as he tried to explain the situation. "I spent the whole day cooking dinner for us, and when I turn my back for ten minutes to go and get you…these bloody bastards ruin it. I'm terribly sorry, Miss Jenny…" He mumbled as his ears, tail, and shoulders drooped in dejection. Skimble lowered his eyes and averted his gaze in shame.

Once Jenny understood what had happened, she smiled and wrapped her arms around Skimble's neck, much to his surprise. The yellow and orange queen nestled her head under his chin and purred in contentment. "Thank you, Skimble. I know you worked really hard on this, but don't think that the date is ruined just because the rats ate all the food. We can still enjoy the beautiful night, can't we?" She smiled up at the orange tabby and pecked his cheek affectionately.

Skimble couldn't help but return the smile and hugged Jenny tightly. "You're really are something, you know that Miss Jenny? You always look on the bright side." He complimented sincerely. The orange tabby tom reluctantly retracted his arms and went to clear the mess the rats had made. He straightened the blanket, took his waistcoat off, and neatly folded it as he laid it on the corner of the fabric. Then he stretched himself out and patted the empty spot beside him.

Jenny didn't hesitate as she lay down next to Skimble, placing one paw on his shoulder and the other on his chest. She rested her head on the spot where she knew his heart was and smiled to herself at its quick beat against her ear. It slowed after a few minutes as Skimble calmed down and propped his head up with one arm. He loosely held Jenny's shoulder with the other. They watched the stars in a comfortable silence, well into the night. It was only when Jenny's paw on his chest became limp and her breathing turned deep and even that Skimble noticed she had fallen asleep. His eyelids were starting to get heavy themselves.

"Miss Jenny? You've fallen asleep." The orange tabby tom whispered as he gently nudged her awake.

Jenny rubbed the sleep from her eyes and murmured tiredly, "Sorry…I can't stay up the whole night like you can…"

Skimble chuckled as he helped his date to her feet. Jenny could barely keep herself awake, let alone walk without stumbling. He knew she could never make it home this way and tried something different. Skimble quickly buttoned up his waistcoat, and before Jenny could protest, the orange tabby tom swept her legs out from underneath her and picked her up bridal-style. She instinctively wound her arms around his neck as he quickened his pace so that they were travelling at a brisk walk. Jenny purred as she nestled her head against Skimble's chest once more and closed her eyes. The rhythm of Skimble's walk and his breathing put her to sleep within seconds again.

When the pair had reached the Jellicle Junkyard, Jenny was already in a deep sleep. Deciding it was useless to try and wake her, Skimble easily found the gate and entered the junkyard. He followed the well-trodden path until he reached a large clearing. A few toms were patrolling the various paths that led away from the clearing. One of them, an older calico tom, came up to Skimble.

"State your name, young tom. What happened to Jenny? She's my daughter, you know." The calico tom said in a gruff voice. He appeared quite intimidating as he looked the orange tabby tom over with hard eyes.

Skimbleshanks hastily bowed in head in respect to Jenny's father. "My name is Skimbleshanks, Sir. Your daughter is fine, she's just sleeping. She couldn't stay awake past midnight, I guess. Do you mind if I set her down in her den? I carried her all the way from the train station and my forelegs are getting tired." He chuckled a bit awkwardly.

The elder calico tom grinned joyfully and clapped a paw on Skimble's shoulder. "So you're the one that my Jenny is so taken with! It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Skimbleshanks! Follow me; I'll introduce you to my mate. By the way, my name is Remgail." With that he guided the younger tom to a den made from a trash pile. Jenny's father pointed to a nest of blankets and Skimble gingerly set Jenny down in it. He tucked a blanket around her shoulders and whispered a quick goodnight in her ear.

When he stood up, Jenny's father motioned to an adult queen who sat in a chair, observing him with a small smile. She was a yellow tabby; clearly Jenny's mother. The older queen stood and shook Skimble's paw. "You must be the famous Skimbleshanks. My name is Annasta. Thank you for treating Jenny with so much care and tenderness. We've been eager to meet you. Jenny might not like to talk about toms that much, but we know she is smitten with you. The more she denies it, the more the opposite is true!" She giggled amiably.

Skimble nodded with a slight laugh. "In all honesty, I feel exactly the same way about your daughter, if you don't mind me saying. Miss Jenny-uhh…Jenny brightens my day a lot. She never looks on the bad side of things and I enjoy spending time with her. I hate to cut our meeting short, but I really must be going. I have day patrol at the station as well as the Midnight Mail, and I need to catch up on my sleep. Goodnight Remgail, Annasta." He dipped his head in farewell and hurriedly left the den. Jenny's parents didn't complain and bid him goodbye in return. Skimble felt glad that he had finally met Jenny's family. They seemed like a great couple that loved their daughter a lot. He felt a small pang in his heart as he strode down the street that led to the train station. Jenny had something he never did, and never knew he missed until now: a mother and a father who loved their kit unconditionally. He shook his head vigorously to get the depressing thoughts out of it and continued on his way.


	4. The Truth Hurts

**A/N: I've decided to focus more on the happenings in the junkyard for now, so that nobody in the story gets left out. There is some violence and subtle fluff for those who like it! Enjoy!**

Jennyanydots woke up to find herself in her nest of blankets. She scratched her head in confusion as the haze of sleep gradually dissipated from her mind. _"This is strange,"_ she thought to herself, _"I c__ould have sworn I was at the docks last night…" _Then the memories hit her. Skimble had carried her home since she had been too tired to walk. A small smile graced Jenny's lips that didn't go unnoticed her parents, who were already awake.

"Good morning, honey. I see you remember how you got home yesterday." Jenny's father commented knowingly from his chair at the table. His smirking lips were concealed behind an old magazine while his eyes danced with amusement.

The yellow and orange tabby queen nodded in confirmation, but her mouth formed into a tight line as she queried, "What do you think of Skimble, Dad? Do you approve?"

Remgail glanced at his mate, who was cooking breakfast at the stove. The yellow tabby queen smiled and answered for them both, "Skimbleshanks seems like a very responsible tom. He takes such good care of you, and you clearly both enjoy spending time with each other. We trust that he will provide for and protect you. He's not the handsomest young tom we've ever met, but we approve. He's a good potential mate in our eyes."

Jenny groaned and rolled her eyes. It was always about matehood for them. "Is that _all_ you guys ever think about? How good of a mate a tom will be? Did you ever think that perhaps I'm not considering him as a potential mate; that I don't want to get too serious with Skimble?" She complained exasperatedly. Her parents just chuckled good-naturedly and left it at that. They didn't really have much of a choice because the sound of someone vehemently cursing and hissing reached their ears. It wasn't hard to determine the location: the center clearing.

"What in Heaviside is that noise? Who's making such a racket this early in the morning?" Annasta huffed and quickly turned the stove off. She set her pot aside so it wouldn't burn. The family of three hurried out of the den and down the path. The overcast sky hid the sun, but the light gray clouds didn't threaten of rain yet. It appeared Jenny's family wasn't the only one that was intrigued by the commotion in the center clearing. Jellylorum's family, Gus', Demeter's, and Macavity's family all emerged from their dens with concerned countenances. Even the seldom seen Coricopat and Tantomile crept out of their den to see what was going on. When the whole of the Jellicle tribe had gathered on the edge of the center clearing, it was plain to see who was causing the disturbance.

Macavity and his younger brother Munkustrap were brawling in the middle of the clearing, but this was obviously no ordinary play-fight. The ginger tom was in a sort of rage because his fur stood on end and his usually calm topaz eyes burned with fury. The more submissive Munk was determined to stand his ground against his older brother, which was a rare sight. The silver tabby tom was never this aggressive with Macavity. The two toms would circle each other for a few seconds and then lunge, using their claws and teeth to do some damage. Jenny cocked her head as she watched the brothers fight. She had been told from a very early age that no claws or teeth were permitted during play-fighting. This duel had to be about something that angered both Munk and Macavity deeply enough to blatantly disregard that rule.

It took the yellow and orange tabby queen a moment to think of the reason, and she let out a slight gasp once the answer came. _"They're fighting about Demeter! Mac must have found out __about yesterday…"_ Jenny thought as she continued observing. She was in too much shock at the violence being committed to step in. The other Jellicles were in much the same state.

However, it seemed Macavity and Munkustrap's father, Old Deuteronomy, wasn't in the same stunned phase as the rest of the tribe. The aging, brown and white-striped tom and his mate Grizabella, an elegant black queen, stepped out from the crowd. "What is the meaning of this? Stop at once!" Old Deuteronomy boomed. Many of the younger tribe members cowered at his powerful voice, even Munk. Macavity paid his father no attention and took Munk's momentary distraction to slash him mercilessly across the face. The young silver tabby yelped in pain as he gingerly held his left cheek. Blood rapidly streamed from the three gashes and stained his paw almost immediately. Macavity managed to kick his brother hard in the ribs before his father reached him and restrained him with evident difficulty. Grizabella tended to her second-oldest son, who writhed and hissed on the ground.

"I'll ask you again, son. Why are you attacking your own brother?" The brown and white-striped patriarch questioned Macavity gruffly. The ginger tom struggled in his father's grip, but he couldn't free himself. He was too strong.

Before he could reply, Demeter pushed her way out from the multitude of cats and made a beeline for Munk. She knelt down beside him and placed a paw on his trembling shoulder. Although he was in pain and blood smeared his paw and half his face, Munkustrap managed to take her paw in his and softly kiss it. Dem didn't wipe the blood off her paw as she smiled falteringly at her best friend.

Macavity snarled as he accused his queenfriend, "You! You're no better than my whelp of a brother! How _dare_ you cheat on me with that knave!" He attempted to wrench himself out of Old Deuteronomy's grasp, but again he failed. All eyes were on Munk and Demeter.

The black and gold queen's face remained emotionless as she took a deep breath. "I did not cheat on you, Macavity. You know I'm faithful to you. Munk and I were just playing around and I guess it got a bit out of hand. It's no reason to spill your brother's blood. I'm sorry you can't handle me being friends with another tom." She said in a collected voice. This appeared to quell Macavity's anger somewhat because his harsh glare softened, but he wasn't anywhere near calmed down yet.

"I don't mind you hanging out with other toms, Dem. It's just when they try to get _too_ friendly with you that I lose it. No one tries to kiss you when I'm around." The ginger tom responded in a more contained tone. Demeter nodded her head in acknowledgment. That was a reasonable answer to her, but the way Macavity reacted troubled her. It showed that the rivalry between her tomfriend and Munk went far deeper than she had previously realized.

Munkustrap was recovered enough from the blow he received to stand up without his mother's help. He stood on shaky hind legs, and smirked at his brother. Blood dripped down from the three gashes on his left cheek and dotted the dry dirt. "Face it, Mac. You're jealous of me! I can kiss a queen without even having to try!" The pain must have been going to Munk's head because Jenny knew the young tom would never say something that cocky. Tugger would without a doubt; but not Munkustrap.

A deadly glint entered Macavity's eyes and Demeter visibly shrunk back. The pair knew each other so well that it was easy to determine what the other would do next. "No Mac, don't do it. You'll regret it." The black and gold queen warned in a voice that wavered in fear. Grizabella, Munk, and Old Deuteronomy seemed to have no idea what was about to happen, however.

The ginger tom's eyes flitted to his queenfriend and then back to Munk. Jenny noticed a strange gleam began to emit from Macavity's fur. She knew that this was another feature of a Conjurer: their fur naturally glimmered, but the glimmer became brighter when they harnessed their magic. Her eyes widened in horror.

"This was the last time something like this happened behind my back. Demeter, you are mine and no one else's." Macavity growled darkly. He yanked a foreleg from his father's grip and before the Jellicle Leader could restrain his son once more, a bright bolt of light erupted from his paw. Jenny could only watch helplessly as the bolt of magic headed straight toward Munkustrap and hit him square in the chest. The young silver tabby only had time to grunt in pain once before he was set flying backward, right into a trash pile. When the dust that was stirred up from the attack settled, Munk was lying in a crumpled heap at the foot of the pile, unmoving.

The whole episode seemed surreal to Jenny. She had never seen Macavity use magic like that, even in practice. The entire tribe was too shocked to make a move. The only sounds to be heard for a few moments were Macavity's heaving inhales of breath and Munk's short, strained ones. Then two simultaneous shrieks of alarm broke the deathly silence as Demeter and Grizabella returned to Munk's side. Jenny winced as they rolled him over onto his back to reveal a nasty, blackened burn covering most of his white chest fur. She glanced at Macavity to see that there was no remorse or sympathy in his callous, light gold eyes. The proud and respected Old Deuteronomy lowered his head in shame as he led his son away, towards their den. The crowd of cats parted for the two toms, and also for Remgail and Grizabella, who carried Munkustrap to the former's den to be treated. Demeter followed solemnly behind them. Some tribe members threw her dirty glares, as if this was all her fault, and others gave her looks of understanding and compassion.

Once the four cats disappeared into Remgail's den, the Jellicles dispersed and went back to their daily routines. Jennyanydots and her mother returned to their den, where they knew their skills would be needed in treating Munk's burn. As they padded inside, they could already hear Grizabella sobbing as Remgail tried to assure her that her son would recover fully.

"It only looks bad, Grizabella. Munk's fur is merely singed at the tips, making it look black. Besides that, it's only a minor second-degree burn. He should heal completely within a couple weeks or so. Please don't fret; we'll take good care of him. Demeter even offered to help, remember? You have nothing to worry about, so just relax." The calico tom said in a calming voice to the distressed ebony queen. Jenny smiled as she took Grizabella's paw in hers to emphasize her father's words. Grizabella nodded her head and the sobs gradually decreased to nothing.

Annasta motioned to the tub of water beside the stove and Jenny got the message. She grabbed a bowl and filled it with the cool water, while her mother fetched a sterile rag. Jenny brought the bowl over and knelt down beside Munkustrap, who was panting as he moaned softly in pain. The yellow and orange tabby queen was glad he was unconscious, or he wouldn't let her anywhere near him. As she wrung the rag out to get rid of excess water, she was about to place it on Munk's chest when Demeter blocked her paw.

"Umm…May I?" Dem asked shyly, gesturing with her free paw to the rag.

Jenny smiled and handed it to her. "Sure, just remember to gently place it on the wound. Don't dab it, or it will take off skin. Don't forget about his cheek, either." She advised, glancing momentarily at her mother. Annasta nodded in approval.

The black and gold queen proceeded as instructed. Munk hissed at the sensation of the cool rag on his chest, and Jenny breathed a slight sigh of relief. She was glad the burn hadn't damaged his nerves. The young silver tabby squirmed and whimpered as the treatment continued, and it was obvious that his sounds of pain were affecting Demeter. Her face grew grim, but she refused to give up. She even reached a paw out to hesitantly stroke Munk's headfur and softly croon soothing words to him. The result greatly surprised Jenny. Munkustrap relaxed after a few strokes and a tiny smile replaced his previous frown. His creased brow smoothed and he appeared for all the world to be sleeping peacefully, despite the pain Jenny knew he was in.

"Wow," The yellow and orange tabby queen breathed, "you seem to have quite the effect on Munk, Dem. I can never make him relax when I'm nursing him."

Demeter smiled modestly and replied, "I guess that's the benefit of being in love. You forget everything except the other person. Plus, Munk likes my voice and he knows I'll never hurt him intentionally. Does the wound seem clean enough to you?"

Jenny inspected the burn. It was clean and the charred fur had returned to its original white colour. She nodded and took the rag from Demeter. "We can't put ointment on it yet because the skin is still too damaged. For now we can wrap his chest with gauze, but not too tight, or the burn won't be able to breath and heal properly. Tomorrow we can apply the ointment to keep out infection." She explained as she turned to her mother. The elder yellow tabby queen was already one step ahead of her daughter and was bringing the gauze in one paw. Demeter hoisted Munk up into a sitting position and Jenny quickly wrapped the gauze around his chest before he could get too uncomfortable. The silver tabby tom was on his back again within minutes.

Although the treatment was finished for now, Demeter refused to leave Munk's side. When Jenny asked why, she shrugged and responded, "I just don't feel like it would be fair. I know Munk wouldn't leave me if I was in the same situation as he is. No, I think I'll stay the night in case he doesn't wake up today. My sister Bombalurina will probably be with Tugger, so I don't have anyone but myself and Munk to worry about."

The yellow and orange tabby queen couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to Dem's unwillingness to leave Munk's side than she let on. "I'm sorry if I sound like I'm getting too personal, but how do you feel about Munkustrap? How do your feelings compare with those you have for Macavity right now?" Jenny asked tentatively.

Demeter furrowed her brow, thinking seriously about the questions. After a long minute she replied carefully, "I don't know what to think about Mac. He insulted me in public, and it hurt to hear him say those words. I know he still cares deeply about me, but…as you can see he's getting harder to handle with each passing day, and I feel kind of anxious around him. When I'm with Munk, I don't have to worry. He's practically like a brother to me. I don't know where I would be without him, and I trust him completely. I also love Macavity, and I'm determined to get to the bottom of his recent strange behaviour."

"I'm glad you won't give up on Mac this easily. It tells me you really do care and that he just needs to get a handle on things, that's all. You're the perfect one to help him get back on track." Jenny said sincerely. "Well, it seems you've got everything under control here. You're a very good nurse, Demeter. I'm off to find Jelly and see how she's holding up." She patted Dem's shoulder and stood up.

Jenny left the den in search of her best friend. She found her discussing something with her mother by the giant tire in the center clearing. They were using low, concerned voices, like they were afraid someone might overhear them. The pair abruptly stopped talking as Jenny walked up to them, though their faces weren't as worried as their voices had been a moment ago.

"Hey Jenny, how's Munkustrap doing?" Jelly queried. Her usually chipper demeanor was anything but right now. Jelly's mother had the same tenseness lining her features. Jenny knew they were both deeply troubled about something.

Jenny tried to appear casual and worry-free, but she failed. Her own concern coloured her voice, despite her efforts to keep it hidden. "Munk has a pretty bad burn, but he should be fine in a couple of weeks. I don't expect it to leave much more than a scar. He's in good paws with Dem, though. She says she won't leave his side until he wakes up. She's so sweet and tender when it comes to Munk. He's lucky to have a friend like her." She explained, and Jelly and her mother audibly sighed in relief.

"At least that's one piece of good news. We just heard about the punishment Mac is getting. Turns out he's being put under den arrest until further notice. Den arrest! Can you believe it?" Jellylorum exclaimed, throwing her paws up in the air for emphasis. Her mother sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose as if she too disagreed with the penalty.

The yellow and orange queen was a bit surprised to hear this. She had a feeling that Macavity's punishment was going to be harsh due to the nature of his attack, but even Old Deuteronomy seemed to be taking extra precautions. It was clear he wanted to send a message that severe actions had severe consequences. "Mac's a prisoner in his own den? He'll go mad! Everyone knows it's a horrible idea to try and contain that tom!" Jenny exclaimed in disbelief. Macavity was known for being a difficult tom, but having rules and regulations forced upon him just seemed to anger him more. She knew this because Macavity was always an independent tom and he never took kindly to the protocol enforced upon him by his parents. Curfew didn't exist for him, he never studied the traditions of the Jellicles like Munk did, and the only reason he became Jellicle Protector was because he was the oldest in the family. Other than that, the only time he exercised his position was to boss others around, usually by force.

Jellylorum and her mother nodded solemnly. "Old Deuteronomy appears to be putting his foot down. He knows he needs to start making Macavity a more responsible tom, and I suppose showing him that actions have consequences is the first step in molding Mac into a Jellicle Protector we can all rely on." Jelly's mother commented seriously. With her opinion expressed, she bid her daughter and friend farewell and went to go hunt for dinner.

"_You can say that again._" Jenny thought sarcastically as the older queen strode away.

Just like with the ever-present blanket of gray clouds that obscured the blue sky, the tense mood didn't seem to lift from the junkyard. Jenny was a bit more relaxed when Jelly pried the details out of her about her date with Skimbleshanks the previous night, though.

"Skimble _carried_ you five blocks from the train station? If that's not chivalry, I don't know what is. I think it's finally happened, Jenny." Jelly said with an air of seriousness to her voice. They were sitting on the TSE-1, trying to absorb what little warmth they could from the metal.

The yellow and orange tabby queen stared blankly at her best friend. "What's finally happened?" She questioned dumbly. Jenny had barely been listening because her mind was preoccupied by Macavity. His punishment was a suitable one, but it didn't seem fair that all these bad things were happening to him. Was he ever going to get out of the rut he had fallen into?

Jelly puffed out her chest a little to make it appear like what she was about to say was very important. "A tom has finally fallen head over heels for you, that is what's happened!" She proclaimed with a knowing smile.

Jenny gave her usual reaction of a sigh and an eye-roll, but caught herself. What Jelly was saying actually made sense. Given Skimble's behaviour and the recent events that had occurred with him, it wasn't wrong to believe Jelly's assumption. Jenny rested her chin on her knuckles and thought for a moment. All she could come up with was, "Jelly…I think you're right. Skimble is in love with me."

"See? And here you thought you were too boring for anyone to like you! Aren't I the best match-maker ever?" The brown and white queen twittered joyfully.

Her best friend ignored the comment completely, as she was still mulling over her relationship with Skimble. "The question now is…Do I see him in the same way?" Jenny murmured to herself.

Jelly had no trouble recognizing the gravity of the question. She remained silent as Jenny carefully considered the answer.

After a few minutes of contemplation Jenny sighed heavily, "I don't know. Nothing has happened yet that tells me, 'I need Skimble' or 'I want him in my life rather than out of it'."

"Hmm…I know how you feel. I had that decisive moment in my relationship with Gus, too. You know what the turning point was for me?" Jelly began.

Jenny, of course, had heard the story before, but she didn't mind her friend telling it again. "What?" She decided to play along.

"It was when I broke my leg falling from a tall trash pile. Gus fell too, but he was lucky enough not to get injured. He blatantly refused to leave my side, even when that important audition was being held on the same day. I begged him to go because I knew how much he wanted to be in that production, but Gus didn't dare leave me. I still remember him saying, 'I don't care about the audition. You're more important, Jellylorum.' That's when I realized he loved me enough to put all else aside." Jelly didn't end with a dreamy sigh like Jenny expected her to. Instead she sat upright and pricked her ears. "Do I hear…singing?" She wondered aloud.

The yellow and orange tabby queen cocked an ear. Her lips instantly broke into a smile as she recognized not only the voice, but the song as well. Jenny grabbed Jelly's paw and raced towards the voice that was singing _Loch Lomond_ in a Scottish baritone. Soon enough, Jenny spotted the voice's owner by the gate of the junkyard. Skimbleshanks stopped singing as the pair skidded to a stop at the fence.

"Hey Jenny, you weren't kidding when you said his voice was as good as Gus'." The brown and white queen commented quietly.

Jenny's smile merely widened as she gave her friend a slight nod. She turned to Skimble and queried, "What brings you here? I thought you didn't get off until four…?" Indeed, the faint sphere of the sun indicated it was only three o'clock in the afternoon. Skimble was still in his waistcoat.

"Yes, well…" The orange tabby tom shrugged, "Coilin let me off early so I could come see you. I heard a bunch of lads talking at the station about a new nightclub that was opening not too far from here. Near where you work, I think. I was wondering if…you wanted to go with me this Friday. I don't have the Midnight Mail shift on Fridays as it's the weekend, so…" He trailed off, biting his lip nervously.

Jenny nodded her head fervently. "Of course! I'd love to! Can Jelly and Gus come, too? Would you mind if it was double date…?" She lowered her voice on the last phrase, not sure as to whether or not Skimble wanted it to be just the two of them.

"Not at all, Miss Jenny. The more the merrier, right?" Skimble smiled, but it seemed forced.

Jelly appeared to pick up on the orange tabby's reluctance, too. "If you don't want Asparagus and I to come, it's perfectly alright. We don't want to intrude."

"Well…I was sort of hoping it would be just Miss Jenny and I…But I don't want to be impolite by declining." Skimble mumbled, averting his gaze.

Jelly placed a paw on Skimble's shoulder to get his attention. "Then Gus and I won't come. I feel like we've tagged along too many times, anyway. It'll be just the two of you, enjoying yourselves at the new pub." She reassured him with a pat.

The orange tabby tom nodded, secretly glad. "Thank you, Jellylorum. I apologize if I've disappointed you. I'd best be going. See you on Friday then, Miss Jenny?" Skimble focused on the queen in question.

"Pick me up here at sunset. Go catch up on your sleep, Skimble. You'll need it." Jenny bid farewell and the orange tabby bowed his head before heading off.

When Skimbleshanks was out of sight and earshot, Jelly turned to her best friend as they began walking back to the center clearing. "You know, something Skimble said caught my interest. He said the new bar was 'near where you work'. Did he mean the junkyard?" She asked in earnest.

Jenny bit her lip as she replied quietly, "Not exactly…"

Jelly narrowed her eyes at Jenny and the latter instinctively dropped her gaze. "Jenny…" She warned in a low growl.

The yellow and orange tabby queen twirled a strand of her headfur as she chuckled awkwardly, "Funny thing…I-I told Skimble that uhh…we work as nurses in the West London Veterinary Hospital." She cringed at Jelly's hiss.

"You _lied_ to Skimbleshanks? Why? No, better question: What do you think he'll do when he finds out that not only do you not work there, but you've also been lying to him this whole time? Why'd you have to drag me into this, too?" Jelly snapped, clearly angry. It was a very rare occurrence for her to blow her top.

Jenny answered quickly before her friend could get too riled, "I didn't mean to! Honest! I just thought that he would like me better if he knew I didn't work in a dump. I've also told him that we're professional nurses. Sorry!"

"Oh Jenny…Did you really think that Skimble is shallow enough to base his affections for you on prestige? He's going to flip when he realizes that you've been dishonest with him! What else did you lie about?" The brown and white queen exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Nothing, I swear! Just play along with it, Jelly! Please?" Jenny begged her best friend.

Jellylorum crossed her forelegs over her chest and her eyes became hard. "Absolutely not. You're going to tell him the truth before this blows up in your face." She ordered without a hint of sympathy in her tone. Jelly was usually the one to joke around and take things lightly, but when it came to morals she was dead-serious. Jenny knew this better than anyone.

In her heart the orange and yellow queen knew this was best for her, but the stubborn part of her mind wouldn't acknowledge it. "I'll tell him after the bar on Friday. That way it won't ruin the mood for the night." Jenny mumbled as she pouted.

"How long have you been keeping this from Skimble so it wouldn't 'ruin the mood'?" Jelly eyed her friend suspiciously.

"Since our first date…" Jenny responded guiltily.

The brown and white queen sighed and shook her head. "Why did you think it would make a difference whether you worked here or in that vet hospital? Did you think that Skimble might not have gone out with you if you said you worked here?" She asked a bit more gently.

The yellow and orange tabby queen stared at the ground for a minute as she thought. "In that moment, I wanted to make a good impression. I wanted to seem like I had more to offer than just 'the queen who works in a junkyard'. I mean, you've seen the place Skimble works at, right? He's got an important job in an even more important place! Me, I'm just your run-of-the-mill nurse who lives in a dump. That doesn't sound very impressive to you, does it?" Jenny explained sadly.

Jelly rubbed her friend's back comfortingly. "I'm sure he would like you no matter who you are. If Skimble truly did want to be with you, then he wouldn't care about your profession. But now that you've been lying to him, don't you suppose he'll think less of you because of it? If you come clean by yourself he'll still be a bit hurt, but he'll give you another shot because he knows you're mature enough to own up to your mistakes. Don't let this fester, alright? It will be better for everyone who is involved." She advised with a small smile. Jenny returned it as they stepped into the center clearing. She did feel better about the whole thing, but how was she going to break it to Skimble? Jenny decided to cross that bridge when she came to it. For now, she wanted to see how Munkustrap was doing. She figured it was about time to cool him off with some more water.

Jenny bid Jelly goodbye and headed to her den. When she stepped inside she greeted her parents, "Hey Mom, hey Dad. How's-"she got cut off as her father put a finger to his lips and pointed to the silver tabby tom in the middle of the den. Jenny immediately shut her mouth and looked in that direction. She broke into a smile.

Demeter was curled up next to Munkustrap, who had put his arm around her as she rested her head on his shoulder. The black and gold queen had her paw lying on Munk's torso, and it was intertwined with his free one. The silver tabby appeared to show no signs of pain. In fact, his face was completely tranquil, as was Demeter's. The burn on Munk's chest and his left cheek were plainly damp, and Jenny figured Demeter had beaten her to it in terms of treating him.

At that moment, Jenny heard a faint pitter-patter on the metal making up most of the den's roof. The raindrops grew stronger until they had reached a steady, drumming rhythm. The yellow and orange queen quickly came to the conclusion that it was pointless to go outside now, so she settled for catching up on her studying. Jenny grabbed a notebook from a shelf in the den and sat down by the wall. She quickly became absorbed in the processes for how to treat varying degrees of burns as well as gashes, infections, and what types of medicines to use for each. Before she knew it, it was dark outside and her parents were already at the dinner table. Demeter was too, and the family ate their food silently.

The black and gold queen woke Munkustrap up to offer him some food, and he gratefully wolfed it down as efficiently as he could. Then the pair settled into the same position as before, only Dem stayed awake. She watched the silver tabby tom as if guarding him. Jenny had begun to feel tired from her stressful day, so she said goodnight to her parents and Demeter and curled up in her own nest. It took her a while to get to sleep, as her predicament with Skimble kept popping up in her mind, but eventually the yellow and orange queen fell into a light slumber.


	5. Competition

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait! School and dance practice keep eating up my time. Anyway, this chapter contains ****a bar fight and...other things. Enjoy! Don't forget to review! You guys seem to read and forget to leave a comment...**

Jennyanydots awoke feeling groggier than usual. It was probably since she had been fretting about her problem with Skimbleshanks enough last night that it had taken a toll on her sleep. She sat up and rubbed her eyes with a wide yawn. Glancing around, she observed her parents setting the table for breakfast, and Demeter and Munkustrap still sleeping in each other's hold in the middle of the den. Jenny silently stood up and tip-toed around the pair so she wouldn't wake them up.

Remgail smiled a tacit good morning to his daughter. Annasta smirked and greeted wryly, "Come to join us for the beginning of breakfast for once, eh honey?" Jenny giggled softly as her mother went back to her pan on the stove and turned the heat up. After a few minutes, she laid a few freshly caught mice on the hot pan and added some spices for taste. The aroma of the cooking meat soon filled the den, making Jenny's mouth water.

When the food was almost done, Remgial nudged the young yellow and orange tabby and requested quietly, "Can you please wake up Munk and Demeter? I'm sure they'd want breakfast, too."

Jenny nodded and walked over to the sleeping pair on the floor. She crouched down and prodded the black and gold queen's shoulder. Demeter's eyes fluttered open and she smiled as the smell of mouse entered her nose. Her smile immediately faded as her eyes followed the line of Munk's foreleg down to his paw, which was resting on her shoulder. She glanced helplessly at Jenny for an explanation, but her older friend merely smiled bemusedly. Demeter's eyes widened as she remembered the events of last night and Jenny let out an unpermitted giggle as a blush spread over the black and gold queen's stunned face. Dem gently removed Munk's foreleg from around her shoulders, separated her fingers from his other paw, and shifted herself away from him. When she was far enough away, she stood up with a sigh of relief.

Even in his sleep, Munkstrap noticed the space beside him was inexplicably empty and there was a significant loss of body heat. He reluctantly opened his eyes to discover Demeter had left his side. Looking up, his lips formed a weak smile as he found what he was looking for. "Good morning Dem, Jenny. Is that breakfast I smell?" He queried in a hoarse voice.

"Yeah," the yellow and orange tabby queen replied, "do you want some? We're having fried mouse." Munk nodded as best as he could without disturbing the healing gashes on his cheek.

Annasta served the cooked mice and Demeter took an extra plate to the silver tabby. She ate beside him and fed him the mouse, as he was barely recovered enough to prop himself onto his elbows, let alone lean over and use the fork and knife.

Jennyanydots ate at the table, and breakfast was quiet for the first few minutes or so. Not enjoying the lack of conversation, Remgail looked to his daughter and questioned innocently, "So, any news with you and Skimbleshanks, Jenny?"

The young queen sighed like she was bored already. She picked at her half-eaten mouse to delay answering. After a minute she shrugged, "He came last night to ask me out to the new pub on Friday. I said yes. End of story."

The calico tom raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Is that so?" He commented with interest. In a more serious voice he added, "You know what we think about pubs, right honey?"

"Yes Dad," Jenny answered in a sarcastic monotone, "Pubs are where cats go to have a good time, have a few drinks, and then go home. No big deal."

Annasta made a slight noise of disapproval. She set her jaw and said sternly, "Now, I'm not doubting your or Skimble's judgement, but what happens if one of you gets drunk? Bast forbid someone spikes your drink with one of those terrible drugs everyone seems to have their paws on these days! Would it be a big deal then?"

Jenny averted her gaze and bit her lip at the mention of narcotics. "Drugs…" She mumbled absentmindedly, thinking back to the incident with Macavity and his sleazy friends.

"Something wrong, dear?" The older yellow tabby queen asked gently. She reached a paw across the table to her daughter, who appeared to go into a short trance.

The younger tabby queen started as she felt her mother's paw on hers, and shook her head fervently. "N-no...Nothing's wrong. I'll be careful at the bar, and I know Skimble will protect me. You have nothing to worry about." She replied hastily in an unconvincing voice. Annasta furrowed her brow and was about to press the matter further, but a knock from the den entrance distracted her.

The family turned their heads in the direction of the entrance and Remgail called out, "Come in!"

Grizabella slowly padded inside the den. Her elegant, ebony fur was disheveled and there were bags under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept a wink last night. Her face was a mixture of concern, anxiety, and fear. Her countenance brightened imperceptibly as her eyes landed on her second-oldest son.

"Good morning, Grizabella. Has something happened? You don't look well." Annasta greeted with a hint of worry to her tone. She motioned to a chair and the troubled queen sat down with a heavy sigh.

The elderly black queen thought for a moment, trying to decide how best to phrase her problem. "I'm relieved to see that Munkustrap is healing nicely under your care. He's only part of the reason I'm here. Macavity has been being…difficult, to say the least. I came to-"

"Difficult how?" Jenny interrupted with her head cocked to the side. A sharp glare from her mother made her mumble an apology.

Grizabella smiled a little as she resumed, "It's alright. Macavity has been going absolutely feral ever since he received his punishment. He's tried to escape numerous times and my mate has had Coricopat and Tantomile place a barrier around our den so he wouldn't. Old Deuteronomy, Rum Tum Tugger and I have moved into a spare one for now. Macavity won't eat, he refuses to sleep, and he keeps muttering about 'needing it', but he never tells us what 'it' is. It's heartbreaking to see my son reduced to this…shadow of himself. I came here to ask if you could let Munkustrap stay here until things calm down a bit. Would that be alright with you?" Her smile was back to a frown by the end of her explanation.

Remgail and Annasta nodded without hesitation. "Of course. It would be our pleasure to house your son for however long you need." The former answered.

The tension on the ebony queen's face released slightly. "Thank you so much. I know you'll take good care of him. I'd better be going. It was nice seeing you." She bid farewell and left the den looking slightly more relaxed.

"Grizabella, wait!" Jenny called out before the elderly queen completely disappeared out the entrance. She backed up and faced Jenny with a furrowed brow, waiting for her to continue. After a few seconds of gathering her thoughts, the words began to tumble out of her mouth. "I think I know why Macavity's been acting this way. A few nights ago Jelly and I saw him with a bunch of toms, the same ones that attacked us last week, and they said they didn't want to sell him drugs anymore. We accidentally came across them while they were talking and Macavity told us that if we tell anyone he's addicted to drugs, he'll hurt Skimble." She finished panting, and the cats around her were all stunned for a moment.

Munkustrap's mother was the first to break the heavy silence. Her countenance resumed its worried expression. "My son…is a drug addict? I can't believe it…Is this why he's been acting so strangely?" She murmured as she made the connections in her mind. Grizabella glanced up with a great sadness in her eyes.

Remgail and Annasta reluctantly nodded their heads. The former explained gently, "Macavity must be going through a withdrawal from whatever drug he was addicted to. This is quite normal behaviour and should last a month or so, if not less. Just don't let him have any more and keep a constant eye on him. I've seen this behaviour in my human's mate before he gave in to temptation and went to prison for stealing drugs. It's not pretty, but Macavity will come out a healthier tom."

The ebony queen smiled grimly at the family of three in front of her. "Thank you again. You've eased my worries a lot, now that I know the reasoning behind Macavity's actions. I understand now. Good day to you all." She said gratefully and left the den.

Jenny's parents congratulated their daughter on her courage to tell the truth, but the young tabby queen was far from proud or happy with herself. Even though her confession had helped Macavity and his family, it had also put Skimble in grave danger. Was Grizabella going to tell her eldest son who told her about his secret problem? She doubted it, but the ginger tom could easily find out just my reading his mother's mind. Jenny hoped he was too preoccupied with his current withdrawal process to bother with Grizabella's memories.

By the time Friday rolled around, there had been no update from Grizabella or her family. Jenny assumed that no progress had been made and therefore Skimbleshanks was still safe. She turned her thoughts towards her tomfriend to get her mind off of her current worries, but this just brought upon a whole new wave of unease. Jenny still wasn't sure if she should tell Skimble the truth about herself. Her sensible conscious knew it was the right thing to do, but the more insecure part of it blatantly protested with feelings of false guilt and conjured up mental scenarios of how Skimble would take it. All of them ended up in a heart-wrenching breakup. The yellow and orange tabby queen convinced herself that if she told her tomfriend who she really was, there would be no more relationship. That was something Jenny refused to let happen.

As usual, Jellylorum was Jenny's one-queen prep team for her date. While said queen was busy brushing out her friend's fur she reminded her sternly, "Are you going to tell Skimble the truth tonight?"

Jenny shrugged. "You know how it is with me…I don't know. Maybe." She said vapidly.

In the reflection of the mirror, Jelly placed her paws on her hips. Her lips were a tight line and she waved the brush in her paw around as she spoke for extra emphasis. "Why is it so hard for you to tell the truth? It's not like he's going to dump you if you just explain everything to him. Skimble's not that shallow. _You_, on the other paw…" Her tone took on a sarcastic uncertainty.

"Hey! I am _not_ shallow! I just have self-esteem issues around toms…That make me cover them up with white lies…That I have trouble admitting…I am not shallow!" She repeated with her forelegs crossed over her chest indignantly.

The brown and white tabby queen rolled her eyes and resumed brushing her friend's fur out. "Whatever floats your boat…" Jelly sighed. When she was finished she fastened Jenny's usual collar on.

Jenny fingered the piece of leather around her neck and queried, "Why not my pearls? I'm going on a date; I want to look decent."

Jelly shook her head. "You're going to a bar, remember? Cats will do anything to get their paws on fancy jewelry like yours. It's safer this way." She explained and turned her head to look out the den entrance. The setting sun's rays didn't reach the earth very well. Instead of bathing everything in orange and gold, the sky and ground simply got darker. Jelly turned Jenny around and gently pushed her out the den entrance. "You're done. Go meet Skimble and don't forget what I told you!" She said in farewell as Jenny walked off towards the junkyard gate.

The sky was covered in dark grey clouds, which obscured the sunset effectively. The yellow and orange tabby queen felt uneasy as she glanced up at the menacing clouds. A storm was sure to come tonight. The weather conditions got pushed to the back of her mind when she spotted Skimble leaning on the fence, whistling a tune. The sound ceased when he saw his queenfriend.

"Good evening, Miss Jenny. You look quite the bonnie lass tonight, I must say. Shall we go?" The orange tabby tom greeted with a charming smile.

Jenny felt herself avert her gaze as the feelings of guilt returned. She didn't deserve to have someone as gentletomly as Skimble be her tomfriend when she could barely look him in the eye and tell him the truth. The railway tom merely took her expression as bashfulness. He and Jenny walked down the sidewalk at a brisk pace in hopes of beating the imminent rain.

Along the way, the tabby queen finally pushed her guilt away and found her voice. "What's the bar called, Skimble? How far is it?" She questioned softly.

Skimble pursed his lips and thought for a moment before answering, "It's called 'The Poker Face Pub'. It's about a block away from your workplace. If we can get there, then the rest of the trip will be pretty straightforward. If we get caught in the rain, you can always spend the night at my place; it's closer to the train station than back to the junkyard." His voice quieted on the last phrase as his brain caught up with what his mouth was saying.

"I'm sure my parents won't mind too much. They keep saying how responsible and kind you are. I'm sure they trust you enough to be sure you won't try anything." Jenny replied as she smiled inwardly at Skimble's shyness. He was modest to the point of being humorous, compared to the regular, impatient toms who wanted to get a queen into bed as soon as possible.

The orange tabby tom cleared his throat to draw the attention away from his words. He felt completely embarrassed that he had practically invited Jenny to sleep with him. _"__Even if it does end up that way, I won't allow myself to go further than a kiss and a cuddle, at most. Coilin would disown me if I actually mated with her and Miss Jenny's parents would most likely forbid me from seeing their daughter…after Remgail beats me to a pulp. With that said, I can't get drunk tonight. It would be very irresponsible of me and dangerous to Miss Jenny." _He mentally vowed to himself. Skimble pointed ahead of him. "Why don't you take the lead, Miss Jenny? You must know the route to the vet hospital much better than I do." He offered humbly.

Jenny bit her lip and hastily replied, "Not really, umm…My parents, Jelly, and I are only needed in emergencies, which fortunately don't happen that often, so I don't go there as much as you think. The lead is all yours." In truth, Jenny had no idea where the veterinary hospital that she supposedly "worked at" was. She vaguely had the general area in her mind, but she didn't have a clue as to which streets to take.

Skimble shrugged and didn't seem to take notice of her quickened tone. "I see. That's very interesting. What kinds of cases do you usually get called in for?" He queried in earnest.

The yellow and orange tabby queen waved her paw around casually as she answered, "Oh, sometimes we get cases where a cat has been attacked by a pollicle, hit by a car, or abused by humans. It can be quite gruesome sometimes." She breathed an inward sigh of relief. Jenny had gotten off the hook for this one quite easily, but she found it was getting less difficult to fib to Skimble. Her stomach churned with guilt. Honestly, the most gruesome injury she had ever treated was Munk's burn. She had no idea what a mauled cat looked like because no one in the junkyard had ever been attacked by a pollicle. Old Deuteronomy ensured none ever entered the junkyard and he didn't allow anyone to venture outside the fence alone at night.

The railway tom nodded in agreement. "I can relate. I've seen one or two stupid, inattentive cats get run over by a train. Of course they never live through it, but I'm just saying I've seen my fair share of gore. Trains don't stop for anything that blocks their way. It's not like they can, anyway. If you're unlucky enough to be in the path of an oncoming train, you're not going to live to see another day. That doesn't account for the casualties in the fires, though…" He trailed off, appearing to become lost in a distant memory.

"…Fires? What fires?" Jenny prompted, bringing her tomfriend back to the present.

Skimble shook his head and resumed in a saddened tone, "It doesn't happen very often, but sometimes a fire breaks out from a leaky oil tank or explosive cargo. You get a spark from a faulty wire or a light bulb and the whole thing goes up in flames, passenger cars and cargo alike. Part of my job on the Midnight Mail is to make sure there isn't anything that could start a fire on the more fragile train cars."

"Your job is much more important than you give it credit for. They're lucky to have someone like you on board." The yellow and orange tabby queen commented. Skimble merely smiled slightly in acknowledgement. The rest of the trip to the bar was spent in comfortable silence.

Upon arriving at the new pub, Jenny took a moment to take it in. The last time she had been to a bar was when she, Jelly, Demeter, and Macavity had celebrated Demeter's birthday the previous year. The building was clearly recently built and didn't have the shady feel of the cheaper pubs Macavity had taken her and her friends to. This one had a bright red and blue neon sign that read "The Poker Face Pub" on a background of three playing cards. From what she could see through the windows, a lot of humans were drinking, dancing, and sitting around watching the two visible flat-screen TV's bolted to the corners of the ceiling. Others were sitting around at poker tables lining the sides of the already cramped bar, gambling away their wages. Jenny stepped forward to go inside, but suddenly felt a paw on her shoulder that held her back.

"Where do you think you're going? That's not the way we go in." Skimble chuckled as he led his queenfriend down an alley on the side of the building. The young tabby queen was a tad perplexed. Every bar she had ever been to was run exclusively by cats. She had always entered through the front door. Apparently there were also co-bars for both humans and cats.

Skimble let Jenny go once they reached the back door of the pub. A few cats were waiting in line while others hung around, smoking cigarettes. The door was open and two rather burly toms were taking fees from their customers. They each had a belt with a pistol, dagger, and coin pouch around their waists.

Jenny's ears drooped in fear at the sight of them, but Skimble chuckled at her reaction and rubbed her shoulders comfortingly. "Don't be scared, I know these guys. They work at the station unloading the heavier cargo in the day and at various bars as ushers at night. They're a jolly pair; you have nothing to worry about." He reassured the worried queen.

The yellow and orange tabby nodded, but she didn't dare come out of Skimble's hold. They waited in line for a few minutes as the cats ahead of them got admitted into the bar. Skimble counted the coins in his waistcoat pocket as the tom in front of them made his way down the staircase and into the basement of the bar. Music and the din of voices poured out of the doorway; it was clear that word got around quickly even though this was only the bar's first night open. Although Jenny couldn't see what lied beyond the stairs to the bowels of the pub, she was sure the party was already well underway.

One of the ushers smiled as Skimble handed him some coins. As his partner counted them, the second brawny tom greeted with a deep laugh, "Hey, look what the pollicle dragged in! Scotchy! How have you been doing these days? We hardly get to see you anymore!" He grabbed Skimble in a headlock and affectionately ruffled his headfur. The much smaller tom squirmed and let out a choked laugh before he was finally released.

The first usher glanced up as he pocketed the coins. He smirked knowingly as he recognized Skimble. "I think I know why. You've got a _belle fille_ with you tonight! May we ask your name, _mademoiselle_?_" _He asked in a thick French accent.

Jenny smiled timidly as she introduced herself. "My name is Jennyanydots. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The French tom and his buddy patted Skimble on the back and stepped aside to let the pair of lovers through. What was meant to be an encouraging pat made the orange tabby tom stumble forward and almost fall down the stairs. He caught himself on the stair rail. "Give her a good _baiser _for us, _oui_?" The Francophone tom shouted after Skimble. Both ushers then turned their attention to the next cat in line. Skimble smiled as he smoothed his waistcoat and ran his fingers through his headfur to make it look decent again.

The yellow and orange queen cocked her head as she and her tomfriend made their way into the pub. The set-up was much the same as upstairs, only cat-sized. The noise also became much louder. "What did he mean, Skimble? I don't speak French!" Jenny queried in a half-yell. Even though the aforementioned tom was right beside her, the noise from the music and voices made talking in a normal volume impossible.

Skimble scratched his headfur and if it weren't for the dim lighting, Jenny would have seen him blush. He cupped Jenny's ear and spoke into it so he wouldn't have to yell, "He said he wanted me to kiss you."

Jenny raised an eyebrow and shook her head with a giggle. "If it's not violence with you toms, it's comments about queens!" The orange tabby tom merely shrugged and led her through the crowd to the bar at the opposite end of the room. There they sat down on a couple of stools and Skimble ordered their drinks. He ordered a Scotch and Jenny ordered a whiskey.

As the bartender prepared their beverages Jenny furrowed her brow and turned to her tomfriend. "Why did one of them call you 'Scotchy'?" She asked.

The orange tabby tom laughed, but Jenny could only see his chest vibrate with the action. The sound was drowned out. Skimble leaned in towards Jenny and told her, "For two reasons: My favourite drink is a good Scotch and I'm notorious for getting drunk off my ass at the local pub." When he saw her concerned expression he added seriously, "I won't get tipsy tonight, I've got you to worry about. I promise, Miss Jenny." His queenfriend smiled and nuzzled him appreciatively.

The bartender handed the pair their drinks and Skimble fished another two coins from his pocket. The tom manning the bar nodded and slipped them into a pouch around his waist. As Jenny sipped her whiskey, she took in the crowd of felines around her. Most were sweating due to the considerable increase in body heat that such close quarters tend to create. They were dancing in the middle of the room and some were playing cards and smoking around the tables along the sides of the space. She looked back to the dance floor, but quickly averted her eyes to focus on her drink. They were dancing quite sensually, and it made her shudder. Not only that, but others were shamelessly making out in public. She would never do either unless something seriously impaired her sense of judgment. Jenny stared accusingly at her whiskey for a moment, took one more sip, and pushed it away. She only got to take one more sip anyway because Skimble downed his drink in one gulp and closed his paw around her arm.

"Care to dance, Miss Jenny?" The orange tabby tom purred to his queenfriend. She giggled in confirmation and Skimble towed her to the dance floor. They didn't have much of a choice but to dance close together since the multitude of cats was so dense. Skimble wound his arms around Jenny's petite waist as she did the same with his neck. She rested her head on his warm chest as they moved in unison to the music. A slower song was on, but that didn't stop the other pairs of queens and toms from getting any less erotic. Some even broke off from the crowd and disappeared behind the doors on either side of the bar.

Jenny followed one pair with her eyes as they went through one of the doors. She glanced up at Skimble and inquired, "What are they doing behind those doors?"

In response the orange tabby tom pressed Jenny much closer by considerably tightening his grip. Jenny's breath hitched in her throat as the message became clear and Skimble loosened his hold. She couldn't suppress the involuntary shiver of pleasure that followed, though. Behind those doors were one-night stands that she would rather not go into detail thinking about. The pair continued dancing and Jenny caught the eye of a cream and black-patched tom who was sitting at one of the poker tables. He took a swing of the beer bottle he held in his paw. She immediately averted her gaze, but looked back at him a few seconds later to see that he was still staring at her. Jenny shifted uneasily and Skimble glanced down at her with a creased brow.

"Is something wrong?" Skimble asked in concern.

Jenny pointed to the table where the cream and black tom sat, but immediately lowered her paw when she realized he wasn't there anymore. "I swear there was just a tom at that table who was staring at me…" She said with a perplexed voice.

Skimble turned around as he felt someone tap him on the shoulder from behind. He released Jenny and the pair turned around to face the cat. It was the cream and black-patched tom. Upon closer inspection, Jenny observed that he was quite leaner than Skimble and had slanted, electrifying blue eyes. He was clearly a Siamese mix, and dashing to boot.

The tom dipped his head respectfully before greeting smoothly in an Irish accent, "I couldn't help but notice you two were the only remotely modest pair in this whole pub. I myself am looking for a decent queen. Do you mind if I dance with her, Skimble?" Apparently the two toms were familiar with each other.

The orange tabby tom's ears flattened against his skull as he protectively placed an arm around Jenny's shoulders. "Yes, I do mind. Miss Jenny is my queenfriend. Please leave us be or there will be trouble, Anubis." He sneered at the intruding tom.

The cream and black tom didn't stop smirking as he continued sarcastically, "C'mon, don't you think Jenny here deserves an obviously better-looking, stronger, and more accomplished tom instead of a pansy like you?"

Jenny was starting to feel angry just like her tomfriend. "Who do you think you are? How dare you insult Skimble!" She snarled fiercely. This just seemed to make Anubis smile more. Jenny felt Skimble inexplicably freeze in place beside her.

"I work with your tomfriend on the Midnight Mail, my fair maiden. We're good pals, so it's all cool. I'm also at a higher rank than he is. Come dance with me?" The cream and black-patched tom purred seductively. He reached a paw out to caress Jenny's cheek and no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't look or flinch away. It was almost as if he was hypnotizing her. She quivered with pleasure as Anubis' fingers trailed down her neck and collarbone and he stepped forward to sensually trace her cleavage. It was only when Jenny felt his lips passionately capture hers that she was vaguely aware that Skimble came out of his trance. She heard a feral snarl and suddenly Anubis was sent reeling backwards.

"Don't touch her! Go back to whatever hole you crawled out of, you sleazy Conjurer!" The orange tabby tom bellowed as he went to attack Anubis again. The cream and black tom quickly recovered, but not before Skimble slugged him across the face once more. Anubis stumbled back, but remained standing. He was prepared for the next blow and deflected the tabby tom's punch with his beer bottle. Flesh met glass and the bottle shattered at the impact. Skimble yelped in pain and retreated to gingerly hold his bleeding right paw. When he looked up again, Anubis was nowhere to be seen.

Jenny was left dazed by what she now knew to be a hypnosis spell. Anubis was gone and Skimble was whimpering, holding a paw dripping with blood. Glass shards were strewn about on the floor. Cats had ceased dancing to give the fighting toms some space. Most were staring at her and Skimble in horror or fear. Jenny pulled the orange tabby tom away and rushed to the front of the room, where the bar was. She pushed one of the doors marked "washrooms" open and strode down the hall, ignoring the erotic couples along the way. She pulled open the door to the washroom for queens, ignoring Skimble's vehement protests. Luckily, there was no one there. Jenny stuck his injured paw under the cold water in the sink, and he forced himself to keep it there despite the sharp, stinging pain.

As the water kept the blood away, the yellow and orange tabby queen quickly plucked the surprisingly few shards of broken glass out and threw them in the trash. Skimble bit down on his free paw to suppress a yowl at each one. When all the glass was out, Jenny removed a roll of toilet paper and used that to staunch the flow of blood. The first five rounds immediately got soaked with the red fluid, but as the more times she pressed the thin paper to the wound, the more time it took for the blood to consume the toilet paper. After about fifteen minutes, the bleeding was under control and had significantly decreased. Jenny had gone through the whole roll by that point, and the inside of the trash can was red instead of black.

"Stay out in the hall; I'll go ask the bartender for a first-aid kit." Jenny said as she and her tomfriend left the bathroom.

Skimble chuckled and asked, "Why didn't you do that in the first place?"

"I wanted to get the wound under control first. I'll be right back." The yellow and orange tabby queen stated with no humor in her voice. She disappeared down the hall and came back a few minutes later with a small, white box marked with a red cross. She took out the gauze and disinfectant and sprayed it on the wound. Skimble hissed loudly in pain, but let Jenny hold his paw as she bandaged it.

When it was all done, the orange tabby inspected his paw. It was perfectly wrapped and he felt nothing more than a pulsating throb. He nuzzled his queenfriend gratefully. "Thank you Miss Jenny. I'm so sorry about Anubis. We obviously aren't the best of friends. He used a spell on me, so I couldn't move. Did he do anything to you?"

Jenny had been so concerned over Skimble that she had completely forgotten about herself. Anubis had not hurt her physically, but he rattled her mentally. Never before had she met someone as selfish, lustful, and dangerous as him. "I'm fine, he didn't hurt me." She replied unconvincingly. A notion came up from the back of her mind. Anubis had taken her first kiss. Jenny felt the anger boil up inside of her again, but it manifested itself into tears and sobs. "He stole my first kiss…I know I shouldn't be so upset, but it's something I'll never be able to repeat…Kisses are very important to queens and my first one was wasted..."

"Oh no…Next time I see Anubis at work, I'll make sure to give him a good punch for the both of us." Skimble promised as he pulled Jenny into a hug. He guided her out of the hallway and back into the crowd. It was as if the fight had never happened, except for the spilled beer and pieces of glass everyone avoided. Skimble led his queenfriend out of the pub, only to be met with a torrential downpour. As if to make the storm's arrival official, thunder boomed and lighting flashed across the sky. Cats and humans alike who were caught in the rain quickly dove for cover under the eaves of shops or houses. The pair walked briskly to the train station, as Skimble had offered earlier. He ushered Jenny into the cargo car that was his den. There, Jenny changed his gauze once again because the rain had soaked through it. She lit a fire in Skimble's small furnace and the tabby tom threw some old newspapers in as extra kindling.

Jenny and Skimble sat in front of the glowing furnace, warming themselves up. The former couldn't stop shivering, so the orange tabby tom got up and retrieved two of the thickest blankets from his nest, along with a couple of pillows. He tucked both around Jenny's shoulders and removed his waistcoat to hang it on the back of his chair to dry.

"Don't you want one, too?" The yellow and orange tabby queen asked, gesturing to one of her blankets. It was the first thing she had said since they had left the bar.

Skimble shook his head. "You need it more than I do." He smiled, but Jenny could plainly see he was trying hard not to give into the cold and shiver uncontrollably.

Jenny narrowed her eyes at her tomfriend. "I'm not blind, Skimble. I can see you're shivering more than a leaf in the wind. Please?" She said sternly, offering him a blanket.

The orange tabby tom sighed in annoyance, but once he had the blanket, he wrapped it as tightly as he could around himself and purred gratefully. Skimble stood up again to turn off the light and get another blanket, but this time he spread it out on the floor in front of the furnace, took a pillow, and made himself comfortable on the makeshift cot. He beckoned to Jenny to lie down beside him. Jenny willingly accepted and she cuddled up next to him, happy to have another heat source. For a few moments, nothing could be heard except for their breathing, the rain on the roof of the shed, and the crackling of the fire.

Jenny felt Skimble shift beside her as he pulled his blanket to cover them both. He didn't retract his paw after he had tucked the fabric around Jenny's shoulders, though. Skimble simply held her and slid his opposite arm under her head to create another cushion for her. When she didn't protest after a minute or so he whispered, "Jenny?"

The yellow and orange tabby queen partially turned over to look at Skimble. She was about to comment that he hadn't said the word 'Miss' before her name and she found that amusing, but he silenced any words with an innocent, gentle kiss on her lips. It lasted one moment, and then two, before he pulled away. A wave of bliss swept through Jenny's body as she felt a smile creep across her face. Skimble's teeth glimmered in the firelight above her as it illuminated half of his face in a soft glow that matched his fur. He was smiling tenderly down at her. "Goodnight." The orange tabby tom murmured as he settled himself down again and closed his eyes to go to sleep. Jenny let her own eyes droop shut and she sighed in contentment as she snuggled closer to Skimble. The stressful events at the pub dissipated from her mind, and nothing was left but a feeling of peaceful serenity as she fell asleep to the even breathing and heartbeat of the tom beside her.


	6. Fatherly Concern

**A/N: Sorry these updates are taking so long! I just came back from a trip to New York City and I brought lots of inspiration back with me! Not to mention I did enough walking to last me a lifetime. This and next chappie are probably going to be the chapters a lot of you have been waiting for. Sorry this one is so short, but it's a set up for the next chapter. Enjoy!**

Coilin paced the landing beside the train tracks, muttering complaints under his breath. It was ten o'clock in the morning and Skimbleshanks _still_ hadn't shown up. Of course, it was Saturday, which meant the young tabby tom was off until Monday, but he usually didn't sleep in this long. Even if he had a hangover, he would be going about his daily routine at around nine o'clock the latest. Skimble would also be eager to complete odd jobs around the station just to keep busy and Coilin needed someone to knock the pigeon nests down from the rafters. The other toms were either on duty or had terrible hangovers from the parties the previous night, and were consequently of little use. Coilin could probably do it himself, but he was getting on in years and his balance wasn't as good as it was. Plus, he had train schedules to double check and confirm who was capable of working today. He had no time for ridding the station of pigeon nests.

The gray and white-patched tom sighed in frustration and stalked over to the shed where Skimble's den was located. The storm last night had left the tracks pockmarked with puddles and he had to lithely skip over them to avoid getting wet. The sky was clear now, though. When Coilin got to the shed, he slid open the door of the train car just enough so he could slip inside. As he pushed the heavy door closed behind him he complained loudly, "It is _ten o'clock_ in the morning, Skimble! Why the hell aren't you-"He stopped short as he turned around and took in the sight before him. Coilin's previous angry expression softened and a tender smile tugged at his lips. "Well, would you look at that…" He chuckled quietly, shaking his head.

Skimble and Jenny were fast asleep in front of the furnace, in which the fire had long since died out. The latter had her head resting on Skimble's chest and outstretched foreleg, while the former had his free foreleg draped limply over Jenny's torso. The orange and yellow tabby queen had turned over during the night and had snuggled closer to Skimble. Only their heads and Skimble's paw were visible from underneath the blankets that covered them both. A tiny smile of contentment played on Jenny's lips.

Coilin slid back the door and left the den as silently as possible, so as not to disturb the sleeping couple. He would find someone else to knock down those nests.

Coilin's yelling hadn't made either cat stir, but once the door of the train car clicked shut, Skimble's green eyes fluttered open. He glanced around to determine the source of the noise, but instead they fell on Jenny's sleeping form. The orange tabby tom watched her sleep for a few minutes before gently shaking her awake. "Miss Jenny? Wake up, it's morning already." He murmured softly.

The orange and yellow tabby queen slowly blinked her eyes open and yawned. She blushed a bit as she met nose-to-nose with Skimble and realized their closeness. "Did you sleep well?" She queried timidly. The pink in her cheeks only deepened as her tomfriend purred and nuzzled her.

"That was the best sleep I've had in months," Skimble smiled, but then resumed in a more serious tone, "did you hear that click just now? I bet it was Coilin. He probably wants me to do some odd job for him."

Jenny's mouth formed a tight line as something came up in her mind. "I think I should be leaving. My parents must be worried sick, seeing as I didn't come home last night. I'll see you later, okay Skimble? Thanks for…well, everything." She said hastily and made a beeline for the door.

The orange tabby tom called out just as Jenny's paw landed on the handle, "Wait! I'll come with you. They probably want to hear from me, too."

Jenny nodded and the pair headed out. They reached the junkyard within minutes to find Annasta waiting at the gate. Her headfur was in disarray and there were bags under her eyes. Her eyes immediately brightened as she spotted her daughter. "Jenny's back!" She cried joyfully. She flung the gate open and rushed to embrace the young tabby queen.

Jenny hugged her mother back as she asked question after question, too fast for anyone to answer. When Skimble cleared his throat, she ceased jabbering and looked at him expectantly. "Are you going to tell me what happened last night?" Annasta questioned, her voice devoid of her previous emotion.

Skimble nodded. "I took Jenny out to the bar as I'm sure she has told you. Neither of us got drunk, and we had a wonderful time until one of my co-workers decided he wanted to steal Jenny away. Mind you, he was a Conjurer and a shady one at that. A fight broke out between us and he ended up smashing a glass beer bottle on my paw." At this point, he showed Annasta his bandaged paw then continued, "Miss Jenny removed all the glass and expertly wrapped it up. By that time the storm had started, so we spent the night in my den since it was closer. I'm sincerely sorry for the worry I've caused you and your tribe." The orange tabby tom finished by bowing his head respectfully.

Annasta smiled as she placed a paw on Skimble's shoulder. He glanced up at her with a tiny bit of fear in his eyes, awaiting her verdict. "I don't blame you for what your coworker did. I'm just glad you're both safe and sound. You've proved yourself quite capable of protecting my daughter. Thank you." The fear left Skimble's eyes and he smiled humbly. He pricked his ears as he noticed Remgail stalking up to their little group. He wasn't worried like his mate was, but he was directing a menacing glare towards Skimble. The younger tom's ears drooped in fear and he ducked his head.

"Why didn't you bring our daughter home last night? Did you know we were up all night looking for her, along with half the tribe? Explain yourself, young tom." Jenny's father demanded. His voice was coloured with the worry he didn't show on his face.

Skimble fiddled with his tail as he recounted the events at the bar, but in a more condensed version. When he was finished, the harsh expression didn't leave Remgail's countenance. The calico tom pinched the bridge of his nose and hissed in a tone that wavered between collected and furious, "You put Jenny in danger? We thought you were responsible enough to protect her."

Skimble winced at the words and opened his mouth to say something in his defense, but Jenny interrupted him. "He is responsible, Dad! He fought that tom off so he wouldn't hurt me! It wasn't Skimble's fault that his co-worker tried to hit on me! You shouldn't be so hard on him…" She trailed off because her father was now directing his glare at her.

"Do you know what could have happened if that tom decided to stay? Skimbleshanks wouldn't have been able to protect you if that tom wanted to rape you. He wouldn't have been able to stop that tom if he chose to kidnap you! He not only put himself in danger, but you as well." Remgail countered with utmost authority. A tense silence fell over the four cats, which meant no one could deny what the calico tom had said. He was right.

Annasta broke the silence after a few moments. She nuzzled her mate's shoulder and said sweetly, "It was an accident, honey. Surely we can pardon Skimble? Jenny's right: it was not his fault and he has no control over another cat's actions. You must look on the bright side, love. Jenny's safe and sound, and Skimble's injury will heal in no time."

Jenny's father ignored his partner. It appeared he was set on his decision. "This was one accident too many. I will not allow my daughter to date someone who is incapable of protecting her."

"Remy, that's-"The yellow tabby queen started to object.

"No Annasta," Skimble interjected, "Remgail has every right to forbid me from seeing his daughter. I failed to defend her from danger and am therefore unfit to date her. I'm sorry. Goodbye, Miss Jennyanydots. It pains me that we can no longer continue our relationship." He spun around on his heel to go back the way he had come.

Jenny stepped forward to grab Skimble's paw, as if that would prevent him from leaving. "Skimble, why would you give up so easily? Can't we negotiate something?" She whimpered, on the edge of tears. She glanced back and forth between him and her father with desperate eyes. Remgail remained unmoving. The orange tabby tom halted, but he fought the urge to turn around and comfort his now ex-queenfriend.

"If your parents don't approve of me anymore," Skimble's voice quivered, "then it would only anger them more if we continued our relationship. I'm sorry, Miss Jenny, I really am. It's against my nature and morals to voluntarily disobey someone's wishes. Goodbye." Jenny released his paw and watched him walk briskly away. An unpermitted sob escaped her lips as he rounded the corner. Soon the tears were flowing freely and Jenny's mother pulled her into a comforting hug.

Annasta looked disapprovingly at her mate. "Remgail, how could you? Why couldn't you forgive the poor tom? Jenny didn't get hurt and you saw how remorseful Skimble was for the trouble he caused us. It was unfair to end their relationship!" She hissed sharply.

Remgail's emotionless expression didn't change. "Skimbeshanks proved himself unable to take proper care of our daughter. He lost the privilege of dating Jenny. My decision is final, so let's not dwell on it. I know I'm being harsh, but Jenny is my only daughter and I won't let something like this happen again. Come, let's go catch lunch." He turned around and strode back into the junkyard. The yellow tabby queen scowled after her mate and quickly guided a crying Jenny into their den, where she could calm down.

By mid-afternoon, Jelly had asked Remgail where Jenny was and he told her the whole story about breaking his daughter and Skimble up. The brown and white tabby queen rushed straight to her best friend's den and didn't bother to knock. She found Jenny curled up in her nest, holding an old cushion. Her mother was sitting beside her, stroking her headfur consolingly. Annasta glanced up and smiled grimly at Jelly, but Jenny didn't appear to notice her visitor.

Jellylorum looked about the den for a few moments, feeling like someone was missing. "Hey, where are Demeter and Munkustrap?" She queried absentmindedly.

"Munk is recovered enough to walk, so he and Dem are taking a stroll around the junkyard." Annasta explained.

The brown and white tabby queen nodded and knelt down beside her sorrowful friend. "Hey, I heard what happened. Are you still angry with your dad?" Jelly said soothingly, as if she were talking to a wounded bird or rodent.

Jenny pinned her ears back, but didn't answer verbally. That was a good enough reply for Jelly. "I figured as much. Are you ever going to forgive him?" She continued in the same voice.

The orange and yellow tabby queen's ears returned to their original upright position, and she merely shook her head no. Annasta tipped her daughter's chin up so she was looking at her. "You mustn't hold a grudge against your father. He didn't want to hurt you." She said comfortingly.

Jenny jerked her head back and hugged the cushion tighter. She averted her mother's and Jelly's gazes as she muttered vehemently, "I hate him. I want him to let me see Skimble again."

"Honey," Jenny's mother chastised, "don't say things you don't mean. Your father did what he thought was best for you. He was just being a bit overprotective, that's all. You know he didn't want to break you and Skimble up. I know it crushes his heart to see you so sad."

"Do you agree with what he said?" Jenny mumbled from her pillow.

Annasta bit her lip and answered slowly, "Yes…and no. I think it was unfair that he didn't give Skimble a second chance. But I also believe that Skimble put you in preventable danger. If I were in your father's place though, I wouldn't have forbid Skimble from seeing you. Your father…well, he doesn't like to take chances. You're his only kitten and when you didn't come back last night, he was really scared that something had happened to you. We all were. When he saw that Skimble was hurt, he couldn't handle the thought that you were, too. He was just trying to protect you."

Jenny stayed silent as she processed her mother's words. After a couple of minutes she replied, "I suppose that makes sense. That doesn't make me feel any less depressed about Skimble, though. That doesn't make me fully forgive Dad."

The yellow tabby queen stroked Jenny's back. "I know, dear, I know. Maybe after a little while he'll see that his punishment was unjustified and he'll lift it? I'm sure if we can get him to think this through logically, he'll see what a huge mistake he has made." She offered optimistically. Annasta thought for a moment and then added, "Tell you what, I'll go and talk to him for you."

"Thanks so much, Mom. You're the best." Jenny cracked a small smile for the first time since that morning.

Annasta ruffled the young queen's headfur and responded affectionately, "Anytime, honey. See you in a bit." She walked out of the den with a lighter heart. Seeing her daughter even remotely happy lifted the burden her sadness had placed on it. The older queen scanned her surroundings and found her mate sitting atop one of the taller trash piles near the TSE-1. Quite a few years had passed since they had met, but Remgail was still an excellent climber.

When she got to the pile she called softly up to her partner, "May I come sit?" The calico tom gave her a fleeting glance, neither accepting nor declining. Annasta proceeded to scale the heap of garbage and took a seat beside Remgail. A few seconds of silence passed before the yellow tabby queen asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Remgail deliberated about whether he should answer or not and eventually went with the former. "Our daughter and Skimble." He replied curtly.

"Mm-hmm. What about them?" Annasta queried innocently as she ran her paw absentmindedly down her mate's thigh in a repetitive motion.

A smile tugged at the calico tom's lips and he had trouble keeping a stony expression. "Stop that, you know it makes me quiver." He swatted Annasta's paw away playfully, but she refused to cease the movement.

"I know. That's the point." The yellow tabby queen smirked. "Can you please rethink your ban on our daughter's relationship with Skimbleshanks?" She continued in a sweeter voice.

Remgail tensed and his mate stopped moving her paw. "I said my decision was final. Skimble put Jenny in danger and I won't let that happen again. She'll find someone else to fall in love with, someone who won't slip up like Skimble did." He growled seriously.

Annasta moved her paw to Remgail's chest and rested her head on his shoulder. "Give the tom a second chance, it's not like he continually puts Jenny in danger. You have to realize that it wasn't Skimble's fault. It was that other tom's. Skimble only got hurt protecting Jenny, and then he took the responsibility of housing her for the night. He's a good tom, Remy. Please reconsider, alright?" She explained in a gentle tone and pulled him into a hug.

The calico tom sighed heavily, but didn't answer. Annasta knew what was holding him back from saying yes. For a couple of years before they started dating, Remgail had watched the yellow tabby queen get abused and treated horribly by tom after tom. It tore at his heart to see her get struck or insulted repeatedly, and he didn't want the same for his daughter. He refused to stand by and watch her get hurt. Last night was too close for comfort for him.

Annasta kissed her mate's cheek before climbing down the pile and returning to their den. Jenny and Jelly looked hopefully at the older queen, and both their faces fell as she shook her head. "He's thinking about it. I don't know which side he's leaning more towards," she shrugged, "I mean, it's impossible to tell what he's thinking right now. I'm sorry to cut my consoling efforts short, but I have to go catch and prepare dinner. I'll see you at sunset, okay Jenny?"

Jenny nodded and Jelly tried to distract her best friend from the subject of Skimble until Jenny's parents came back at the aforementioned time, one with a few pigeons in her paw. Annasta prepared dinner and Jelly left to go eat her own. Remgail was still undecided on the relationship ban, and supper was devoid of conversation. When everything was eaten, Jenny sat down in her nest and pulled out her mother's notes. She could always lose herself in the procedures and lists of medicines. They went to sleep without saying goodnight that night.

The yellow and orange tabby queen actually couldn't drift off at all. She tossed and turned, and by midnight she decided that sleep would be impossible. Jenny glanced over at her parents who were sleeping beside each other in their nest. She missed the feeling of Skimble's embrace as she slept, and the warmth of his body next to hers. Last night's sleep had been the best she ever had, too. Jenny suddenly got the radical idea that perhaps she wouldn't have to miss the feeling of Skimble's forelegs around her.

"_I can't sneak out to the train station in the middle of the night! Who knows what kinds of creeps are lurki__ng outside the junkyard at this hour? Old Deuteronomy will have my head if I sneak out alone! On the other paw…nobody has to know. I'll be back before dawn and it will be as if I've never left the den. But then what if someone finds out, or I sleep past that precious window of time? No, I must risk it. Dad's decision wasn't fair and I won't stand for it. I'm going to see Skimble tonight and prove Dad wrong." _Jenny thought firmly and confidently. She glanced one last time at her parents to make sure they were sound asleep and then quietly stole out of the den.

The night air was crisp and refreshing as Jenny made her way towards the fence. The moon was just a crescent in the sky and it barely illuminated anything. Jenny stuck to the trash piles and eventually got over the fence, but her success didn't come without a few close calls. The toms on night patrol were very vigilant and one or two did a double-take in her direction. Nevertheless, Jenny started on her journey to the train station.

The sidewalks were lit by the street lamps overhead, but the yellow and orange tabby queen skirted around the circles of light cast by them to avoid detection by any other cats. She constantly threw glances over her shoulder only to find that no one was following her, thankfully. She reached the train station unscathed, but now had a new problem: the cats on patrol at the station. The only way Jenny could reach Skimble's den without being caught was if she avoided the platform completely and made her way across the train yard. Trains weren't running as often at this time of night, but it was still dangerous.

Jenny decided to take a chance. She was on hyper-alert for the sound of trains and patrolling cats as she slithered across the tracks on her belly. At one point, the hushed voices of a couple of toms reached her ears and she saw the beams of their flashlights pointed in her direction. Jenny froze and flattened herself against the tracks until the voices faded and her surroundings were dark once more. The yellow and orange tabby queen kept crawling along, and the tell-tale rumble of the tracks that indicated an oncoming train was non-existent. She stood up once she reached the shed with the abandoned cargo car and dusted herself off. Jenny quickly groomed herself so she appeared at least decent for Skimble.

The young queen braced herself against the heavy door to slide it open, like she had seen Skimble do several times before, but the door wouldn't budge. She pushed harder and the door moved an inch. By the time she had gotten it open enough for her to barely slip through, her chest was heaving and her limbs were exhausted. Skimble was much stronger than she gave him credit for; that tom opened and closed this door like it was nothing!

When Jenny climbed into the train car, she discovered the heavy door closed easier than it opened. She glanced around the area, which was only dimly lit by a dying fire in the furnace. The tired queen smiled weakly as her eyes landed on Skimble's sleeping form, curled up in his nest of blankets. Only his head was visible from underneath the thick fabric tucked around his body. Jenny silently crept up to him and nuzzled him until he stirred, blinking open sleepy eyes.

"What…? Mm-Jenny, what are you doing here?" The orange tabby tom mumbled with a wide yawn.

Jenny smiled and stroked his cheek as she replied quietly, "My father said his punishment was too harsh and that he wanted to give you a second chance. I came as soon as I heard. He takes a while to make up his mind." She knew she was going to pay for that lie later, but right now all she wanted was to cuddle up next to Skimble. Consequences were of little concern to her.

If Skimbleshanks had been more awake and alert, he would have quickly registered that something wasn't right. If Jenny's explanation had been true, she surely wouldn't have come in the dead of night and she wouldn't smell like the gravel she had crawled across to get there. Since Skimble was exhausted and his mind was in the dense fog of sleep, neither of these things crossed his mind at that moment. He merely smiled wearily and lifted his blanket so Jenny could nestle herself against him.

"I'm glad…I missed you, Jenny. Sweet dreams…" The orange tabby tom murmured as he kissed the top of his queenfriend's head and wrapped an arm around her shoulders to hold her close. Jenny smiled in contentment as she heard Skimble purr softly and felt his chest vibrate with the action against her back. She turned over and rested her head where his heart was, and the purring increased in volume. Her smile widened.

Jenny fell into a deep sleep almost immediately, feeling happier and guiltier than she ever had.


	7. Playing with Fire

**A/N: Just a warning, Macavity comes back with a vengeance in this chapter. I think a lot of you have been waiting for this one, myself included. There will be drama! Thanks to all my readers and reviewers! This will be the second-last chapter of The Tabby at the Train Station, so get ready for an epilogue as the next update. Enjoy, and don't forget to review! :)**

Jennyanydots awoke feeling fully rested and rejuvenated from her late-night trip to the train station. She glanced beside her to see that Skimble wasn't sleeping there, like she expected. A voice from the desk to her left quelled her sudden worry.

"Good morning, Miss Jenny. Did you sleep well? I caught us breakfast." Skimble's cheerful tone entered Jenny's ears. He held up two pigeons and brought one over to his queenfriend.

"Thank you. I slept wonderfully." The yellow and orange tabby queen replied, and then furrowed her brow. If Skimble was awake, then… "Skimble, what time is it?" Jenny queried, trying hard to hide the growing panic in her mind.

Skimbleshanks glanced at the watch on his wrist. "About 9:30 in the morning, according to my watch. Why, do you need to be somewhere?" He inquired in return.

Jenny shook her head and nibbled at her pigeon. When they were both finished, Skimble threw the bones outside. The orange and yellow queen bit her lip nervously, thinking about how furious and worried her parents must be right now. When she couldn't take it anymore she requested politely, "Can you walk me home, please? I'd like to join my parents for breakfast. They must be up and about by now."

The orange tabby tom nodded with a smile and pushed the door open. The pair started on their walk back to the junkyard. During the trip Skimble asked, "So, what would you like to do today? It's Sunday and we have the whole day to ourselves."

"We'll see when we get to my home. I could show you some great sightseeing spots, or teach you some dance moves. We Jellicles are crazy about dancing." Jenny offered. The junkyard fence came into view, and her stomach clenched. There would be a surprise waiting for Skimble; that she knew for certain.

The pair entered through the gate and walked to the center clearing. Jenny was surprised that no one had started calling her name yet. When she got to the clearing, her shoulders hunched under the harsh gazes of her parents who were standing in the middle, waiting for her. Skimble nudged his queenfriend to get her attention and commented, "Your parents don't look very happy…What do you think is going on?"

The yellow and orange queen knew exactly what was going on, but she couldn't answer because they had come to a stop a few feet away from Remgail and Annasta.

Instead of the yelling she expected from her father, Remgail remained strangely calm as he stated, "Jenny, would you care to tell me why your mother and I didn't find you in your nest this morning?"

Skimble cocked his head. "I thought you were alright with Miss Jenny coming to the train station last night to-" He queried innocently, but got cut off.

"You went to the train station _alone_, in the middle of the night?" Annasta gasped in horror at her daughter.

The calico tom shifted his piercing gaze to Skimble as he spat with a singular, sarcastic laugh, "We allowed Jenny to do no such thing!"

"Really?" Skimble raised an intrigued eyebrow, "I could have sworn she said that you gave her permission…" He was getting very confused now.

Remgail returned the focus to his daughter. "Why on earth did you think it was alright to go to the train station in the dead of night? Did you know what could have happened to you? Why would you do something that absurd?" He demanded in a sharp tone.

Jenny knew she couldn't lie her way out of this one. After a minute of heavy silence she admitted reluctantly, "I went to tell Skimble that you allowed me to be with him again." She stared down at her hind paws like a guilty kitten. She felt like one right about now.

"I never said anything like that. I was still undecided last night. But as of now…I think I have my answer." The adult tom said in a condescending tone.

Skimbleshanks looked at Jenny with evident hurt in his eyes. "Jenny…You _lied_ to me? How…How could you…?" His voice was so full of betrayal and sorrow; it almost brought said queen to tears.

"I didn't want to lie, honest. It just ended up that way! I really missed you and I wanted to prove to my father that his decision was wrong. I didn't want to hurt anyone…" Jenny pleaded, but to no avail. She couldn't ease the betrayal in her tomfriend's eyes.

Remgail placed a paw on his daughter's shoulder, but she refused to look at him. "Jenny, haven't we taught you better? Lies will only get bigger and bigger until they're impossible to control. Why did you lie to Skimble and disobey us? That's not like you at all, honey." He said in a gentler tone as he rubbed the young queen's shoulder.

It took a moment for the yellow and orange tabby queen to confess, seeing as she had been too self-conscious to tell the truth in the first place, but the words eventually formed in her mind and came out of her mouth. "You're right; it's not. I wanted to seem like a more interesting queen to Skimble, so I lied to get him to like me more. I don't work at the West London Veterinary Hospital, and neither does anyone in this junkyard. I'm not even a professional nurse, I'm just studying to be one. I was going to tell the truth once this whole thing with Macavity settled down, but that still hasn't happened yet. I thought you were wrong, Dad, to split Skimble and I up. I was also tired of being the goody two shoes of the junkyard; the perfect, boring, studious nurse-to-be. The one who never does anything wrong and is always responsible. I'm sick of it! I wanted some excitement, so I decided to bend the rules a bit. I'm sorry I had to drag my own tomfriend down with me." Jenny admitted bitterly. Her little rant had taken her parents and Skimble completely off guard. They had no idea that she had been suffering this way all along.

"Sweetie…why didn't you come and tell us you were feeling like this? We would have done something about it. We would have given you more freedom and less studying. How does that sound, now that we've gotten everything out in the open?" Annasta offered sympathetically. Jenny nodded, and turned to Skimble.

"I guess I owe you a huge apology. I'm truly sorry about all of this. I promise I'll tell the truth from now on, and no more lying. You have my word, Skimbleshanks." The yellow and orange tabby queen vowed with an apologetic smile.

Skimble seemed reluctant to accept. He shifted from one hind paw to the other, weighing his decision. Finally, he met Jenny's hopeful gaze. "Miss Jenny, you broke my trust. You lied and I was gullible enough to believe you. I don't know if I can trust you enough to tell the truth, or if you'll just lie to my face again later. I gave you my affection and you took it for granted, like it was meaningless enough not to return with the simple truth. I'm terribly sorry, I-"He choked on his own words and then forced out quietly, "I can't do this anymore. Goodbye." The orange tabby tom sprinted off in the direction of the junkyard gate before anyone could stop him.

"Wait! Skimble, don't-"Jenny cried after him, but he was already gone. She herself was near tears, and let them spill over freely. "Doesn't he understand? I didn't mean for things to get this bad…How can he be so shallow?" She sobbed, and her mother pulled her into a tight hug, stroking her headfur comfortingly.

"It's alright, don't cry…" The yellow tabby queen crooned, "Skimble just needs some time to think this through. He'll come around when he's ready, don't worry."

Remgail also embraced his daughter and offered some words of comfort, "I'm sure he'll realize the mistake he's made and come back, honey. I owe you both an apology, too. I just didn't want to see my little kitten hurt, and I overreacted. I'm sorry things turned out this way."

Jenny managed a tiny, wavering smile at her father. "I f-forgive you, Dad. I know you w-were just trying to p-p-protect me." She sniffled and let her parents lead her to their den. There they made tea and consoled their daughter further. After Jenny calmed down, she decided to go on a stroll to clear her mind. When she got back to the center clearing, she chose a random path and ambled down it, lost in thought. After a few minutes, Jenny inexplicably stiffened. Someone was watching her.

Macavity chuckled in his usual low tone as he emerged from the shadow of a junk pile. His voice held a sinister essence to it that could make anyone shiver with fear. This was a much different Macavity than the one Jenny had known a couple of weeks ago.

"I must say, that was a good-what do those humans call it-soap opera. _Very_ dramatic. Too bad it ended badly, I thought Skimble was going to forgive you like the naïve tom he is." The ginger tom smirked sarcastically.

Jennyanydots cocked her head in confusion. "What's gotten into you, Macavity? I thought you were still under den arrest?"

Mac' shrugged and replied, "Being in solitary confinement does this to you. I don't trust anyone anymore, not even my own family. They _stole_ from me, Jenny. My parents stole my trust and freedom, my brother Munkustrap stole the love of my life. But, be a _goody two shoes_ for a few days and they let you off the hook. I'm a free tom, and I'm out for revenge. I think I'll start with _you_, Jennyanydots."

"Why me? I held up my end of the deal; I didn't tell anyone about your drug problem!" The yellow and orange tabby queen hissed fiercely, hoping Macavity hadn't read his mother's mind yet.

Macavity snarled, causing Jenny to recoil in fear. "_Liar_! I thought you promised you wouldn't do that anymore, hmm? Are we going back on our word so soon? I'm not an idiot, Jenny. My mother does a poor job of keeping her thoughts hidden from me, so I know everything about your little confession to her and your family. So guess what? Now it's time for your rightful punishment. It's really a shame that you had to end your relationship with Skimbleshanks on a sour note. I almost feel sorry for you two. Skimble might as well be burnt to a crisp and you can't do anything about it!" He laughed menacingly again, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Jenny whimpered once and made a beeline for her den. Her mother and father exchanged worried glances at the sight of their panting, terrified daughter. "Jenny, what in Heaviside happened? Why are you suddenly acting like the world is going to end?" Annasta exclaimed as she guided Jenny over to a chair. She collapsed in it, suddenly exhausted.

It took the tired queen a couple minutes to calm down enough to speak. Once she had gotten over a few false starts she recounted her tale, "Macavity found out about my telling his mother about his drug problem. Now he's going to hurt Skimble! We have to do something!"

"Would Macavity really do such a thing? Would he injure a cat who has done nothing to him?" Annasta said in a disbelieving tone. Of course she knew Grizabella's eldest son would hurt another if provoked, but what about an unprovoked attack?

Remgail thought about the matter seriously. "We certainly know what Macavity is capable of, so we can't take that chance. What can we do to stop him, though? We've already seen that his parents have done nothing but anger the tom when they contained him." He stated with a furrowed brow.

Jenny and her mother nodded. The family of three spent another few minutes trying to think up a suitable plan to deter Macavity's imminent attack on Skimble. Jenny broke the meditative silence that had settled upon the three. "I know something that might work." She piped up with a sly smirk.

"What?" Her parents chorused.

"We distract Macavity so that he forgets about Skimble." The young queen proposed.

Remgail cocked his head. "It sounds like a good idea, but how do we distract him for a long period of time?" He said skeptically.

Jenny leaned forward in her chair, still smirking. Her voice dropped in volume as if she were afraid someone was listening in on them. "Think about it. What's the one thing Macavity can't _possibly_ resist? What will he do absolutely anything for?" She hinted deviously.

"Umm…Drugs?" Annasta stated the obvious. It was true; Macavity would do anything, even completely disobey the tribe's policies to get his paws on the stuff.

The yellow and orange tabby queen shook her head. "That's a close second. Macavity's greatest distraction is Demeter. You've seen how he acts around her, haven't you? He can't think of anyone but her when they're together." She explained, her smirk growing to a smile.

Jenny's parents nodded in agreement, but Annasta didn't seem entirely convinced. She scratched her foreleg anxiously and pointed out, "Demeter is with Munkustrap, though. She won't go back to a tom as…unstable as Macavity. How will we get her to comply?"

"It's worth a try, without a doubt. If we can get Demeter to act like she's still in love with Macavity, the plan could work and Skimble will be fine." Remgail reassured his mate. Jenny got up and went to go find the queen in question.

Demeter was sitting idly on an ancient mattress which was held securely in place by pieces of other junk. She lifted her head when she saw Jenny. "Hi, Jenny. What's up?" The younger queen greeted with a smile.

"Hey, Dem. Umm…I kind of need to talk with you in private. Do you know of a place where nobody can eavesdrop on us?" The yellow and orange tabby queen requested, nervously rubbing her left calf with her opposite foot.

"Of course," Demeter answered, her smile becoming a frown, "let's go to my den." She climbed off the mattress and Jenny followed her friend. They soon came upon their destination and went inside.

Demeter's den wasn't very extravagant, but she did live with her younger sister Bombalurina. Bomba was a red queen with black spots and her on-and-off tomfriend was Rum Tum Tugger. The pair of queens sat down at the plastic kitchen table.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" The black and gold queen resumed the conversation.

Jenny thought for a minute about how to phrase her problem. She finally explained, "Macavity's planning on hurting Skimble since I told his mother about his drug problem after he threatened me not to. We need you to distract Macavity long enough so that he forgets about his attack and moves on. Do you think you'd be willing to do that?"

Dem let out a long breath and replied slowly, "You know I'm with Munk now, but he'll understand. How long would I have to do this for?"

"About a week or two. Just long enough for Macavity to get his mind on other things not involving violence." The older queen shrugged.

"Alright then, that sounds easy enough. What if he doesn't take the bait, though? We're both aware he can read minds, especially those of the ones he's close to. I know how to hide my thoughts from him, but what do we do if something goes wrong?" The black and gold queen voiced the obvious problem with Macavity's magical abilities.

Jenny twirled a piece of her headfur as she mulled over the obstacle. "I guess just make him believe you really want him back. Do everything in your power to make him focus on you and not revenge." She concluded after a minute of silence.

"Hey, if it's for you and Skimble, I'm all for it. I won't let you guys down." Demeter promised in a confident voice. Her older friend smiled sadly, thanked her, and left. All she had to do now was wait and see how Macavity would behave. She hoped to The Everlasting Cat that her plan worked.

Over the course of the next few days, everything seemed to be going well with Macavity and Demeter. They acted like the fight with Munkustrap never happened. The black and gold queen acted like she was completely head-over-heels with her old tomfriend again, and Macavity appeared to be happier than Jenny remembered him being at any other point in time.

A week went by, and there was still no news of Skimbleshanks. Jenny didn't bother going to the train station. She knew Skimble needed time to work things out with himself, so she just focused her attention on Macavity and Demeter. It didn't stop the ache in her heart every time she saw the couple kiss or embrace, even if it was faked on Demeter's part.

On Sunday morning, exactly a week after Jenny's tragic break up with Skimble, Demeter came running to the yellow and orange tabby queen who was sitting on the giant tire with Jelly. Demeter looked very distressed and frightened.

"Macavity's gone. He found out everything. I-I-I couldn't stop him, Jenny! I'm so sorry!" The black and gold queen forced out before bursting into tears. Jenny and Jelly stepped off the tire to comfort their distraught friend.

As Jennyanydots massaged Dem's shoulder she inquired, "How did Mac' find out? Did he use magic?"

Demeter took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves. "He saw me hanging out with Munkustrap and eavesdropped on our conversation. I saw him just as he was leaving, and I knew the game was over. I failed you and Skimble…I'm a terrible queen!" She wailed and broke down into sobs again.

Jenny and Jelly soothed the younger queen with words of reassurance and comfort, but that soon got cut off as the distant blare of fire engine sirens was heard. Jelly and Dem ignored the common noise, but Jenny was on edge. Macavity could do anything at this point. Then she saw a black column of smoke rising into the blue sky. Judging by the size, it was quite close.

"_That fire looks pretty big. Hold on a minute…" _The yellow and orange tabby queen took a closer look at the smoke column. Between the billowing, black clouds she could just make out the familiar clock tower on top of the train station. "Oh no…Please no." She murmured with growing dread.

_Skimble might as well be burnt to a crisp and you can't do anything about it! _Jenny recalled Macavity's words with a quiver of fear. She sprinted for the fence.

"Jenny! Where are you going? Stay here, it's too dangerous out there!" Jellylorum warned her best friend.

"The train station's on fire! I have to go save Skimble!" Jenny yelled back as she vaulted over the fence and continued running as fast as her legs would carry her. She soon heard rapid footsteps behind her and saw that Jelly and Demeter had decided to follow. Jenny slowed down for them and they ran towards the train station.

When the trio arrived at the station, they found with relief that the platform itself wasn't in flames. The terrified passengers were all huddled on one side of the landing while fire crews were busy lugging hoses across the tracks. The train station personnel, both humans and cats, were trying to keep the passengers from panicking, but they looked pretty worried themselves. Jenny spotted Coilin and ran up to him. He smiled grimly as he noticed the young female tabby.

"Have you seen Skimble?" Jenny asked in heavy concern in her tone.

Coilin shook his head and explained, "He hasn't been out of his den all morning. It's actually the one on fire. I'd suggest you and your friends stay out of the way of the fire fighters. They've got everything covered. Who would do such a thing, setting a poor, young tom's home ablaze?" He sighed and went back to his job of keeping the people calm.

"Macavity." Demeter growled. Jenny and Jelly nodded in agreement with her.

The yellow and orange tabby queen began to jog in the direction of Skimble's former den, but felt a strong paw pull her back. "What do you think you're doing, lassie? I said stay put, or you'll hurt yourself. Let the emergency crews do their job. I'm sure Skimble will be fine." Coilin said more firmly. Jenny wrenched her shoulder out of his hold and made a mad dash for the tracks. The older tom was too slow to stop her, and her friends' cries of protest fell on deaf ears.

Jenny snuck around the fire crews, who were too busy with the blaze to notice her. She finally had a clear view of the fire. The shed where Skimble's den was located had flames consuming every part of the old, wooden building. The ancient structure didn't look like it would hold much longer. Parts of it were already starting to collapse. Despite the efforts of the brave fire crews, the water gushing out of their hoses didn't seem to douse the flames at all. They simply kept on burning, no matter how much water was used. They almost seemed to be enchanted, forever blazing. The strange thing was that the fire was only contained to that shed, even though there was a breeze in the air. Not an ember sparked and started another blaze on the ground, nearby train cars, or other wooden buildings. Jenny spotted a sole way into the shed that wasn't about to collapse or was spewing out flames. She made a beeline for the safe entrance.

The tabby queen coughed violently as the thick smoke entered her lungs, and she put a paw over her mouth to help filter out some of it. It also stung her eyes, making it hard to navigate through the flames. After what felt like an eternity, her paw landed on the handle of the shut train car. She found it odd that it was closed. If Skimble had escaped, or if the fire fighters had rescued him, it would be open. After a few tries, Jenny heaved the heavy door open and slipped inside. The inside of the cargo car was also in flames, and it was just as bad as the outside. Every inch of Skimble's furniture was burning, including his curtain.

Jenny's eyes went wide and she let out a silent gasp as she found the orange tabby tom bound to the furnace, clearly unconscious. His eyes were closed and his chin was resting in his chest. His wrists and ankles were tied with rope, while a thicker rope around his torso held him upright against the furnace. Jenny carefully made her way over to him and quickly untied his limbs, but had more trouble with the rope around his torso. This one was more expertly knotted than the other two. She was also surprised that there were no signs of injury on his body, but then again Macavity didn't need to use violence to knock someone out. The metal of the furnace was hot to the touch because of the fire, and Jenny had to painstakingly saw the rope with her claws to free Skimble.

When she had liberated the orange tabby tom at last, Jenny heard a loud thud and glanced around frantically for the source of the noise. Her eyes landed on the heavy, smoldering curtain, which had been hung up before. She sighed in relief and tried to wake Skimble up, but he wouldn't respond. The yellow and orange tabby queen put her ear to his chest to check his breathing. His chest rose and fell in an irregular pattern, which only added to her worry. She wasn't surprised, though. The smoke was causing her to have breathing problems, too.

Jenny went over to the door and pushed it open more so that she could fit both Skimble and herself through it. Then she returned for the orange tabby tom and hoisted him over her shoulder. It was difficult since he was heavier and larger than her, but she made it through the door without too many stumbles. She began to retrace her path through the burning shed, only much slower than she wanted to because of her burden. A charred beam of wood suddenly crashed down in front of her, but it didn't completely block her way. The shower of sparks singed her fur a little bit, but she was more focused on getting out alive than the pain. As the yellow and orange tabby queen started forward again, she heard a malicious laugh from behind her. Jenny glanced over her shoulder just in time to witness something truly terrifying.

The flames took the shape of a cat for a moment, and she could even make out piercing topaz eyes in the fire. The flaming cat laughed again and dispersed in a burst of sparks that burned the tips of her fur. Jenny could have sworn the voice sounded like Macavity's, but she just thought her mind was playing tricks on her. She made her way through the blazes and out into fresh air again. When she was far enough away, her legs gave out and her conscious mind gave way to inviting darkness.

When she woke up again, she was in the same room where she had first met Skimbleshanks. Jenny lifted her head, but put it back down as a massive headache came on. She heard a voice from beside her.

"How are you doing, Jenny? We were all worried about you." Remgail asked softly as reached a paw out and stroked his daughter's headfur. Jenny glanced around as best as she could and discovered that her mother, Jelly, Demeter, and Coilin were also in the tiny room. They all had relieved countenances.

The young tabby queen furrowed her brow. "What happened? Where's Skimble?" She croaked, and then broke into a coughing fit.

"Easy there lass," Coilin advised, "You inhaled a lot of smoke during that hare-brained rescue of yours. Your parents said you shouldn't try to talk too much. Skimble has also got the same problem, only a little worse. He's got a decent burn down his back too, but it's not too bad. Give him a few days in bed and he'll be as good as new. The lad's over there." He pointed to the bench on the other side of the room.

Jenny turned her head and observed that Skimble was lying on his front, still unconscious. A thin, damp towel was draped vertically along his spine. She sat up with evident difficulty, and her parents and friends watched her with concern, ready to help if she lost her balance or fainted again. The yellow and orange tabby queen completed the few steps to the other side of the cramped room without any trouble, and gladly fell to her knees to become eye-level with Skimble. She hesitantly stroked his face with her thumb, silently overjoyed that he was safe.

The young tom's face twitched at the sensation, and his green eyes slowly blinked open. They were dulled with pain and he coughed a few times, but he managed a tiny smile. He brought a paw forward with effort to prop his head up off the bench and said feebly, "I knew…it was you who saved me. I caught your scent, even…when I was out cold. Does that mean-"

Skimble's phrase was interrupted as Jenny leaned in to press her lips to his. When she pulled away she finished with a smile, "I'm staying with you for good."


	8. Epilogue: Kindness

**A/N: This is the last chapter of The Tabby at the Train Station. I'm sad that this story is ending, but unfortunately stories have to finish. I thoroughly enjoyed writing this and I hope you have had a likewise experience reading it! I thank all my readers and reviewers, and I think some honourable mentions are in order. Cocobutterrox and thatHORRIBLEcat, you two were my most loyal reviewers! Thanks so much for your comments! Also, a few cats won't be making appearances in this chapter. Alonzo and Mistoffelees have their own story, as I'm sure you all know. Jemima isn't born yet. Please enjoy this last chapter of The Tabby at the Train Station. :')**

Jennyanydots never told anyone about the manifestation of Macavity in the flames. She herself didn't know whether it was real or not. After the fire, there was no hope of rebuilding Skimble's den and all the others were taken, so Jenny offered him a place at the junkyard. Annasta and Remgail were skeptical at first, but they allowed it. The orange tabby tom quickly settled in and got to know the other tribe members. He also got into dance, like all the other Jellicles did, and added his own Scottish twist into the ballet routines.

Macavity seemed to calm down after the incident at the train station, and no one found out who the real culprit was. However, he became more and more withdrawn as the months passed by. He still tried to see Demeter even after her real motives were discovered, as if he wanted to try and salvage the relationship he thought had been there, but really wasn't. This only seemed to make him more depressed. Half a year of this had gone by before he finally snapped. One morning, both he and Demeter disappeared. Shortly after the disappearance there were reports of a slew of crimes that had been committed, but nobody, not even Scotland Yard, could find out who the perpetrator was. Search parties were sent out for a few weeks after that, but nothing came up. Bombalurina was devastated at the loss of her sister and Macavity's family was hit hard by the disappearance of the Jellicle Protector. By tradition, Munkustrap took over his brother's role. Another two weeks went by and the tribe was forced to face the worst: Macavity and Demeter were never going to be found.

By that time, the Jellicle Ball had long since passed and a couple of newly mated pairs were announced. Jenny and Skimbleshanks were officially mated and so were Jellylorum and Asparagus. Nine weeks later, Jelly gave birth to her first son, Asparagus Jr., who was the pride and joy of his parents.

A week later Jenny found out she was pregnant. About two months later she delivered a calico queen that she and Skimble named Rumpleteazer. She proved to be quite a pawful right off the bat. A serendipitous event also happened a few weeks after 'Teazer was born. Munk found an orphaned kitten at the junkyard gate one night while making his usual midnight rounds. The kit was a pure white female, and had a note claiming her name was Victoria on the box she was found in. Victoria was barely two weeks old. She was no replacement for Demeter, but Old Deuteronomy allowed Munk to raise the kitten as his own daughter.

Some weeks later, a squalid, black and gray-patched tom was seen repeatedly pacing outside the junkyard fence. Skimble was the first to approach the stranger, and explained to him that he was on Jellicle territory. The black and gray tom said he knew, and also that he had been recently dumped by his careless owners. It was obvious the tom needed a place to stay, and he was welcomed into the tribe. The unknown tom introduced himself as Admetus, and proved to be a very shy tom, but kind and caring nonetheless. He found himself a den, and that was that.

Cassandra, a bronze Abyssinian queen and her older sister Exotica arrived at the junkyard a month and a half later. They had owners, but much preferred to stay with other cats. Exotica was no older than Bombalurina, and Cassandra was around the same age as Tantomile. They were very secretive queens and kept to themselves, but quickly made friends with the psychic twins. That was no surprise, seeing as they shared similar personalities. Exotica was seen much less than her sister, and even Cassandra didn't know where she went most of the time.

Rumpleteazer and Victoria became fast friends and the latter was a skilled dancer, though she was only about eleven weeks old. 'Teazer was the boisterous one of the pair and she loved to play tricks on the other tribe members. They got used to her creative, fun pranks that made everyone laugh, even the victim. It was when she and Victoria found another pair of queens that the tribe was actually astonished. They were malnourished, shabby, and scared, but 'Teazer's talking skills and Victoria's kind nature convinced them that they weren't enemies.

One queen was about a year younger than Rumpleteazer and the other was about half a year younger than the first queen. Once they got cleaned up, the older one was discovered to be a tortoise-shell and the other a brown and yellow tabby. As the pair got more accustomed to their new home, they revealed that their names were Electra and Etcetera. Electra was older and more serious, being the caretaker of her younger sister, and Etcy proved to more hyper than 'Teazer. She took a liking to the Rum Tum Tugger and almost never left his side. Tugger didn't mind the attention, but Etcy's squealing got on his nerves sometimes. It wasn't seen as proper that kittens as young as Electra and Etcetera should be without parents, so Jenny and Skimble took care of them. Electra insisted that she and her sister have their own den, and she couldn't be swayed on that decision. The pair joined Jenny and Skimble for meals and whenever they weren't playing with Victoria and Rumpleteazer.

During the time that Electra and Etcy had been settling in as Jellicles, Jelly and Gus were expecting another kitten. Only it turned out they had fraternal twins. One was a brown and white-patched tom they named Tumblebrutus and the other was a brown, white, and black-striped tom named Pouncival. They grew quickly and loved to play fight with each other.

A few months later, Munkustrap's family suffered another blow. Grizabella had been deeply saddened by the loss of her first-born son, as had the whole family. She spontaneously decided she couldn't take living in this depressed state any longer, and hit the road. The elegant, ebony queen had a plan to make a living. She wanted to get into show business and become a Glamour Cat. Glamour Cats were mostly looked down upon and seen as greedy, desperate felines who had no other choice but to get into the sleazy industry, but Grizabella was determined to make the most of it. Old Deuteronomy wasn't one to force his opinion, but he outright denied his mate's decision. His family couldn't take another loss, but Grizabella promised she would come back soon, and that she would also look for Macavity along the way. Reluctantly, The Jellicle Leader let his mate go.

Years passed, Grizabella never returned as she had promised, and the kittens grew into healthy, rambunctious adolescents. The crime rate in London was still high, and appeared to stay that way. Rumors of a crime lord known under such names as 'The Hidden Paw' and 'Macavity the Mystery Cat' reached the junkyard and Old Deuteronomy was on high alert for the menace. It wasn't the crime lord himself that put him on edge, but the fact that this criminal was recruiting strays as henchcats. He knew this because the cats had a trademark black collar with spikes, and they did the dirty work for their boss. The Jellicle Leader forbade anyone to go outside the junkyard at night and to be extra careful when walking around the city in the day. If anyone saw a cat with the tell-tale collar, they should run as fast as possible in the other direction.

As usual, Rumpleteazer was one to bend the rules a bit. She had turned from an adorable prankster into a little more than one. She had gotten into taking things from tribe members without permission, which is stealing. 'Teazer gave the items back once the person found out, only to steal another item of theirs a few days later. Victoria refused to take part in the actual theft, but she always tagged along just for the fun of it.

One year, on New Year's Eve, the calico queen-kit wanted to see the fireworks on the roof of the train station. Skimbleshanks, her father, always talked about how you could see the Thames perfectly well from that vantage point, and the humans always launched the fireworks from various barges on the river. Some boats also fired their own, but it wasn't as spectacular as the professionals'.

"Dad, Dad!" Rumpleteazer, now sixteen, bounded up to her father as he was getting his waistcoat on to leave for work. He still had his job at the train station, and after Coilin passed away the year before, he had taken over as Head Night Watchman. He now worked only at night on the Midnight Mail, since he had a family to care for. "Can Victo'ia an' Oi go down ta tha train station ta watch tha foireworks?" 'Teazer had a mixture of her parents' accents and took on the district accent, which happened to be Cockney.

Skimble scratched his head and sighed. 'Teazer always did this when she wanted something. She would run up to him the moment he was leaving for work, and he had no chance of discussing it with her because he didn't want to be late. "Ask your mother. See you in the morning, sweetheart." The orange tabby tom stated and slipped away before his daughter could object.

The calico queen-kit turned to Jennyanydots, who was sitting at the kitchen table. "Mom, can Oi-"

"I heard you the first time 'Teazer," her mother smiled, "and yes, I allow you and Victoria to go. But, I have two conditions."

Rumpleteazer frowned and waited for her mother to continue.

"You don't talk to strangers and you come straight home after the fireworks are over. Deal?" Jenny said firmly.

The calico queen nodded fervently, in a hurry to leave. "Deal! Thanks Mom!" She chirped happily and ran off to go find Victoria. The pair of queens hopped the fence and started on their way to the train station. In the time it took to find the white queen-kit, Skimble was already well on his way and was too far away to be followed. Neither queen had ever really been to the station, as nobody could really watch them. Skimble made the nightly circuit on the Midnight Mail and the other toms were too busy doing their jobs to kitten-sit. Still, 'Teazer vaguely knew the way and was confident that she wouldn't get lost.

Twenty minutes into the walk Victoria whined, "Are you sure you know where you're going? We've got a half hour until midnight and I don't want to miss the fireworks!"

"Yeah, yeah, Oi know tha way! Moiy Dad takes moi there awll tha toime! Quit complainin' an' keep on walkin'!" 'Teazer hissed and strode on confidently. On the inside, she knew none of these streets looked familiar. She was too proud to admit she was lost.

Both queens suddenly got the feeling like someone was watching them, but Rumpleteazer shrugged it off and kept moving. Five minutes later she declared, "Awlroight, Oi admit it. We're lost. Le's backtrack an' see if we can come ta a street we know."

Before she could execute her plan, the pair of queens heard a voice from the shadowy alley beside them. "Ya two queens lose ya' way?" A tom's Cockney tone seemed like it emitted from the alley itself.

"Who's there?" Victoria squeaked fearfully. She hid behind 'Teazer for safety.

The voice chuckled and a tom emerged from the alley. He was a lean orange calico, and if he didn't look a year older, he could be mistaken for 'Teazer's long lost twin. The tom also wore a henchcat's spiked collar. "Moiy name's not impo'tant. So, Oi'll ask again. Ah ya lost?" The calico tom repeated, running a paw through his already unkempt headfur.

Victoria and Rumpleteazer stiffened. Their parents had warned them about cats like this one. They worked for The Hidden Paw and were extremely dangerous criminals. "No! Leave us alone an' ya won' 'ave aneh trouble!" 'Teazer threatened unconvincingly.

The mystery tom laughed again and smirked, "C'mon, pretteh queens loike ya can't foight strong toms loike moi. Tha's unfair. Oi know this area well, so Oi can take ya ta wherevah ya need ta go."

"Vickey, le's go. We can watch tha foireworks from tha talles' junkpoile instead." The calico queen murmured to her snowy-white friend and turned to leave.

The henchcat's voice made her halt for a second. "Ya live in a junkyard?" He assumed casually.

"Yeah. Whot's it ta ya?" 'Teazer spat.

"T'wouldn' 'appen ta be tha Jellicle Junkyard, would it?" The tom continued more slowly.

Victoria cocked her head. "How did you know?" She asked, but 'Teazer immediately clapped a paw over her mouth. It was too late, though. The henchcat had already heard them.

The calico tom shrugged, "Jus' a guess. Moiy boss is from there, tha's awll. Yeah, 'e doesn' realleh loike Jellicles, so tha' means Oi don' eithah. But Oi'll le' ya go 'cause ya're so darn pretteh, t'would be a shame ta kill ya. 'Appey New Year, Jellicles." He disappeared into the shadows once more.

'Teazer and Victoria exchanged frightened glances and sprinted back to the junkyard, just in case the tom decided to change his mind or if he had buddies with him. They soon arrived back home and climbed to the top of the tallest pile, in time for the beginning of the fireworks. The pair of queens silently promised never to say a word about the incident. Still, 'Teazer couldn't get the image of the tom out of her mind. He was a very handsome tom, but what struck her the most was that he wasn't the bloodthirsty henchcat the tribe always told her to stay away from. Perhaps not all of The Hidden Paw's minions were evil to the core? The tom also said that his boss was a Jellicle once. 'Teazer had heard of only two Jellicles that have ever left the tribe, and one of them surely wasn't a criminal. The other was a more probable candidate. She decided to ask her parents in the morning.

The next day, Rumpleteazer and her family were eating breakfast when 'Teazer brought up the subject. Her grandparents had also joined them today. "Mom, Dad, who is tha 'Idden Paw?" She queried innocently as she used a fork to push her mousecake around her plate.

Jenny visibly tensed while Skimble set his jaw. Only Annasta and Remgail appeared to be willing to answer the question. The former smiled at her granddaughter and replied, "The Hidden Paw used to be a member of this tribe, in fact he was supposed to be the next Jellicle Protector. His name was Macavity and he was never the friendliest of toms. Something went wrong in his mind and he took another tribe member, Demeter, and just…disappeared into the night. We never saw either since, but we have reason to believe that the increased number of crimes in the city is because of Macavity. That's why you have to be so careful when venturing outside the junkyard. I'm sure you've heard of his henchcats, right?"

'Teazer nodded fervently and added in her mind, _"Oi also me' one, too."_

Annasta smiled and continued to eat her breakfast. After a few minutes Remgail inquired, "Why do you ask, 'Teazer?"

"No reason…Oi'm jus' wonderin' 'cause nobodey's evah told moi tha full storey before." The calico queen-kit shrugged non-chalantly.

The rest of breakfast went quietly and afterwards 'Teazer left to go find Victoria. The white queen-kit was practicing jetés with Electra and Etcetera. 'Teazer felt like dancing, since she had nothing else to do. It was too beautiful of a day not to. Sure it was the middle of winter, but it wasn't really cold. The calico queen-kit spent most of her day dancing and watching other cats dance, and soon she forgot all about the mysterious tom and Macavity. Needless to say, she didn't go out of the junkyard at night anymore.

This went on for another month or so before the opportunity to go outside during the night presented itself. Rumpleteazer, Etcetera and Victoria were going to celebrate Electra's fifteenth birthday, so they got permission from their parents to take the tortoise-shell queen-kit out to dinner. They couldn't afford much, but they chose the best diner they could get that served cats. They had a wonderful time, and soon it was getting late. The four queen-kits paid for their food and left the restaurant.

On their way home, 'Teazer noticed a few distressed cats in an alley. She convinced her friends to stop and see if they could help. Being the oldest in the group, Etcy, Vicky, and Electra couldn't really say no to her. They approached the three cats cautiously.

"Are you guys alright? You look like you're having some trouble." Electra called to the three cats. One turned around; the cat was obviously a tom. The group of queens quickly realized they were all toms. Now that they were closer, they also observed that they all had spiked collars. Henchcats.

"No, we're okay. Leave us be." The tom who turned around spoke. He was a calico, and 'Teazer couldn't help but feel she had seen this tom somewhere before.

"Are you sure?" Etcetera cocked her head, "Your friends don't look so good…" It was true. One tom, clearly younger than the calico, was slumped against the wall. He was shivering uncontrollably and his lips were a bit blue. Etcy didn't know whether his fur was naturally copper or if it was stained that way because of the number of bleeding gashes on his body. The third tom, a black and cream-patched cat, wasn't moving at all. His face was pale and lifeless.

The calico tom snarled and stood up, startling the four queen-kits. "We're foine. Leave us alone, unless ya wont a beatin'." He threatened seriously. 'Teazer was the only one who didn't cower at the venom in his tone.

"'Ey, we're jus' troiyin' ta 'elp! There's no reason ta be so rude! Do ya wont us ta 'elp o' not?" Rumpleteazer shot back, paws on her hips. The two calicos stared each other down for a minute before the tom growled in defeat. He wrapped his muscled forelegs around himself since he was shivering almost as much as the younger tom.

The calico tom crouched down beside his unconscious comrade and shook his shoulder gently. "Plato, we've got 'elp. Ya're goin' ta be awlroight." He crooned to the freezing tom and hoisted him over his shoulder. The injured feline whimpered and hissed in pain, but quieted down as his comrade kept moving.

"Whot 'bout tha othah one?" 'Teazer queried, pointing to the last tom. The calico henchcat just shook his head and frowned. 'Teazer understood what that meant: it was too late for that cat.

As the group was walking, Rumpleteazer kept stealing glances at the calico tom. She knew she had seen him before…"'Ey, wha's ya name?" She questioned the henchcat casually.

"Moiy name's not impo'tant." The calico tom answered curtly, shifting his burden ever so slightly.

Now 'Teazer was sure she had met this tom before. Only one cat had said that to her. "Oi've seen ya before, Oi know it. Darn, bu' where?" She pondered aloud, trying to recall the memories that wouldn't come.

The calico tom turned his head towards 'Teazer this time instead of looking ahead. He furrowed his brow. "Come ta think o' it, ya do look familiah." The henchcat stated and then snapped his fingers with his free paw. "Oi know! Ya're tha' Jellicle queen Oi me' on New Year's Eve! An' ya whoite friend ovah there, too." He pointed at Victoria and she hesitantly waved back. The calico tom frowned and continued, "Damn, Boss won't loike moi stayin' with Jellicles. Bu' tha's okay, it'll onleh be 'til moiy lil' buddey 'ere is 'ealed enough ta walk."

"Ya look loike ya've been 'avin' some trouble, too. Whot's wrong with ya leg?" Rumpleteazer commented, pointed to the henchcat's left hind leg. It was bleeding and he was clearly trying to put as little weight on it as possible.

"Nothin'; it's jus' a scratch. Oi' don' need aneh special treatment." The calico tom muttered tersely. It was almost like he was embarrassed by his injury and didn't want to admit he had one.

'Teazer shrugged and left the tom alone. Soon the junkyard fence was in view. Munkustrap was reluctant to let a pair of henchcats stay in the junkyard, but he got over his prejudice for the sake of another cat's well-being. The pair was set up in Jenny's den, which was also used as an infirmary. Plato was set down on a blanket and Jenny began her work as soon as possible. The calico tom settled himself against the wall and let his eyes droop shut. He hugged himself for warmth, since he was still very cold.

Rumpleteazer cocked her head at the older henchcat. "Ya know, we can se' a nest up fo' ya. Ya don' need ta sleep loike a 'obbo." She commented, and went to fetch some gauze for her mother.

"Oi loike it bettah when Oi can keep an eye on evreyone, so Oi can make sure none o' ya Jellicles will troiy anehthin' funney durin' tha noight." The calico tom opened his eyes and smirked, half serious.

Jenny's daughter took some gauze and a damp rag and brought them over to the henchcat by the wall. The calico tom's face darkened and he bared his teeth at the sight of the objects. 'Teazer rolled her eyes and sat down in front of the tom. "If we wonted ta troiy anehthin' funney, we would o' left ya in tha' alley. We jus' wont ta 'elp, so ya won't suffah a slow, painful death from infection. Will ya le' moi look at ya leg?" She said the last phrase in a gentler tone as she reached a paw out towards the tom's bloodied hind leg.

Reluctantly, the calico henchcat extended his limb and 'Teazer started to dab the gash on it with her damp rag. The tom hissed and retracted his leg immediately. "Whot tha 'ell is on tha' rag? It burns loike shit!" He spat, and didn't care that Jenny shot him a disapproving glare for his vulgarity.

"It's disinfectant. Ya've nevah 'ad this stuff put on ya before?" 'Teazer replied sarcastically, and the tom just shook his head. He let the calico queen-kit resume cleaning his wound. "Figures," she continued, "Oi can see so many othah scahs on ya leg, they're 'ard ta count. Ah ya gonna tell moi 'ow ya an' ya friend got in such a mess?"

The henchcat debated with himself on whether he should tell or not, and eventually decided that the information wouldn't come back to haunt him. "Pollicles. Moiy buddies an' Oi were attacked boiy those damn beasts outta nowhere. We ran a few blocks ta ge' away before ya arroived. Oi guess Oi should thank ya fo' savin' ah asses. Bu' Oi can't do tha' if Oi don' know ya name." He smirked, but gritted his teeth as 'Teazer applied another round of the disinfectant.

"Rumpleteazah. Now it's ya turn. Tell moi ya name." The calico queen-kit remarked as she moved on to wrapping the tom's leg with gauze. In the time it took her to finish the job, he hadn't uttered a word.

'Teazer sighed in slight frustration and left the tom alone to go help her mother with Plato. The younger tom's wounds were looking much better and the bleeding had almost stopped on the smaller gashes. She discovered that his fur was actually russet with white patches. When he was stable and her assistance wasn't needed anymore, 'Teazer busied herself with making a temporary nest for the calico henchcat. This drew the tom's attention.

"Is tha' bed fo' Plato?" The henchcat queried from his place by the wall.

"Well, Plato can't realleh move, now can 'e? This bed's fo' ya." The calico queen-kit stated, and frowned when she heard the tom scoff.

The henchcat didn't move from his spot when 'Teazer was finished with the make-shift bed. "Whot will it take ta make ya sleep loike a no'mal cat? Whoiy won't ya allow yaself some comfo't an' lie down?" She huffed in annoyance.

The calico tom shrugged and answered simply, "Moiy boss tells us tha' tha more discomfo'ts we deal with daily, tha toughah we'll become. It's worked so fah. Oi'm not dead ye'."

"Ugh, tha's nonsense," Rumpleteazer waved the comment off, "Ya boss won't care if ya sleep in a propah bed with a blanket fo' jus' a noight o' two."

This made the henchcat think twice before replying. He sat there for a minute, eyes shifting between the warm-looking bed and 'Teazer. Finally, his longing for a bit of luxury seemed to take over and he crawled to the nest. He curled up in it and let a sigh of contentment escape his lips. After stretching himself out to make full use of the bed, the tom looked expectantly up at 'Teazer like something was missing.

The calico queen-kit giggled and fetched a blanket from her nest. She took the liberty of tucking the fabric around the shivering henchcat's body, despite his growl of refusal. When she turned around to walk to her own nest, she heard the calico tom speak up from behind her.

"Moiy name's Mungojerrie. Thank ya fo' ya koindness, Rumpleteazah. Oi won't fo'get it."

**The End.**


End file.
